The Frameworks to Support Adherence in Mental Health Working Group: Translating Science Into Action to Improve Patient Care

Shared decision making (SDM) involves healthcare providers and patients collaborating to make optimal healthcare decisions that align with patients’ goals and values. Patient decision aids can assist the SDM process. The Frameworks to Support Adherence in Mental Health Working Group (WG), comprising leading patient advocates, healthcare professionals, and mental health policy experts, was convened to develop web-based decision aids for patients and their providers that improve adherence to mental health treatment. During two full-day meetings and four follow-up teleconferences, the WG met to identify and iteratively refine a set of key messages and communication techniques into the final decision aids. The patient-centered materials focused on using SDM to discuss optimal healthcare decision making. Because meaningful discussions about progress toward recovery goals, adherence, and self-care strategies such as symptom tracking require an established therapeutic alliance, initial materials included videos for providers and patients that modeled conversations built on SDM. Ancillary materials were produced to reinforce the concepts in the videos. Provider-facing materials included an SDM overview, a resource on normalizing language, and a resource to help patients set meaningful goals. Patient-facing materials included discussion tips for healthcare appointments, goal-setting worksheets, and progress trackers. Materials are free of charge. This program addresses the need for high-quality decision aids that facilitate SDM for patients with mental illness and their providers. Moving forward, it is important to assess the quality and effectiveness of decision support tools in improving patient outcomes and quality of life. Research into the effectiveness of this program is ongoing.