Educating for supported decision making and shared decision making: a scoping review of educational design and outcomes for education and training interventions

To characterise existing knowledge about the design and learning outcomes of education and training programs for supported or shared decision making.A scoping review was performed to identify academic and grey literature, published between January 2006 and February 2022, that reported on the design and/or learning outcomes of supported or shared decision making education or training programs. Eligible literature was mapped across domains of educational design and Kirkpatrick's hierarchy of learning effectiveness, and then qualitatively synthesised using cross-case analysis.A total of 33 articles were identified (n = 7 for supported decision making and n = 26 for shared decision making) that provided education or training to supporters of persons with mental illness or substance use disorders (n = 14), dementia or neurocognitive disorders (n = 6), cognitive disability (n = 5), mixed populations (n = 1), and those receiving end-of-life care (n = 7). In their design, most programs sought specific changes in practice (behaviour) via experiential learning. Reported educational outcomes also focused on supporter behaviour, with limited evidence for how changes in learner attitudes, skills, or knowledge might be contributing to changes in supporter behaviour.Future education and training would benefit from a closer engagement with theories of teaching and learning, particularly those oriented towards co-design.Existing education and training programs for supported and shared decision making have a solid focus on modifying supporter behaviour through information provision, reflective practice, and modelling and coaching desired behaviour.To fully realise supported decision making, education and training programs would benefit from a focus on program co-design and working within a socio-ecological model of supported decision making.Future evaluations of supported decision making education should draw from both quantitative and qualitative approaches, with a focus on identifying the learning processes through which education influences supporter behaviour, organisational practices, and client/patient outcomes.