Shared Decision-Making in Healthcare

Dear Colleagues, 

The COVID-19 outbreak has changed all societal domains, including health care services. The abrupt challenge for healthcare providers to manage a rise in COVID-19 cases and maintain essential healthcare services placed a heavy strain on healthcare professionals and also patients. Unfortunately, this situation is still going on. Since the coronavirus pandemic, the physical and psychological stresses have reached a new high. Work density is intensified by the increasing shortage of skilled workers.

Especially in times of stricter guidelines, the active participation of patients regarding treatment options should be encouraged and demanded. Shared decision making (SDM) shall not be forgotten during these challenging circumstances, as restrictive measures influence the relationship between patients and health professionals but also provide opportunities to foster a patient-centred approach, e.g., the transfer of SDM into virtual space. Papers dealing with behaviours and attitudes of health professionals and/or patients or considering psychosocial factors are particularly welcome.

The aim of this issue is to provide an updated overview on the current practice and importance of SDM in healthcare, addressing new and innovative topics, and on measures to be developed and implemented to promote patient participation in health care.

Prof. Dr. Harald Stummer
Dr. Valentina Mitgutsch
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• COVID-19
• participation
• decision making
• self-determination