Shared Decision-Making Competency among Oncology Nurses in Spain

Written by Jose Ignacio Recio-Rodriguez, Joseph D. Tariman, Thomas Dahan, & Khairunisa Lalani

doi: https://doi.org/10.13178/jnparr.2026.1601.1604

Abstract

Background: The Shared Decision-making (SDM)-Nurses competency tool was developed to assess SDM competency among nurses throughout the spectrum of a patient’s cancer treatment journey, helping patients achieve SDM.

Objective: This pilot study examined the SDM competency among oncology nurses at a large, urban, and academic medical center in Spain using the SDMNurses Spanish version. The initial reliability of the SDM-Nurses Spanish version was also examined.

Methods: This study employed a cross-sectional, paper-based survey design. The data from the paper questionnaire were entered into SPSS version 28 and were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, and correlation statistics. Potential missing answers were addressed during the data collection process. The STROBE research checklist was utilized in this study.

Results: Overall, the participants reported an average of 80% score or higher in knowledge subscale only (M = 4.41; SD = .48). There is a need to improve their competency on SDM attitudes (M = 3.92; SD = .48) and communication skills (M= 3.89; SD = .39). Interestingly, we found that nurses with more than 10 years of experience tended to have statistically significant lower mean scores than nurses with less than 10 years of experience (p = 0.02) for communication skills. Moreover, the SDM-Nurses Spanish version demonstrated adequate reliability, with Cronbach’s alphas of 0.70 for the communication subscale, 0.72 for the attitude subscale, and 0.80 for the knowledge subscale.

Conclusion: The assessment and development of SDM competency among oncology nurses are critical for achieving patient-centered care. Continuous professional development aimed at maintaining competency in SDM should include resource allocation to improve the quality of the SDM process.

Keywords: Shared-decision making, patient-centered care, oncology, professional development