To what extent do decision aids for prenatal screening and diagnosis address involvement of partners in decision-making? - An environmental scan.

Abstract Objective Numerous decision aids (DAs) have been developed to inform pregnant people about prenatal screening as the decision whether or not to accept the prenatal screening offer may be difficult. Currently, little is known about the role of the decisional partner of the pregnant people in this decision-making process and to what extent DAs involve and engage the partner. Methods A broad search was conducted to identify publicly available DAs in English and/or Dutch regarding prenatal screening and diagnosis. These DAs were analysed on aspects of partner involvement. Results Ten of the 19 identified DAs (52.6%) contained at least one aspect of partner involvement. Several DAs acknowledged that both partners should be involved in the decision (n=7). The content that was least likely to contain aspects of partner involvement in the DA was value clarification content (n=2) and only one DA contained content with plural addressing. Conclusion Just over half of the included DAs included some aspect(s) of partner involvement. Practical implications More research is needed to determine to what extent, and how, the partner should be involved in the decision-making process as expectant people consider the input of their partner as important.