The Pathways fertility preservation decision aid website for women with cancer: development and field testing

To improve survivors’ awareness and knowledge of fertility preservation counseling and treatment options, this study engaged survivors and providers to design, develop, and field-test pathways: a fertility preservation patient decision aid website for young women with cancer©. using an adapted user-centered design process, our stakeholder advisory group and research team designed and optimized the pathways patient decision aid website through four iterative cycles of review and revision with clinicians (n = 21) and survivors (n = 14). field-testing (n = 20 survivors) assessed post-decision aid scores on the fertility preservation knowledge scale, feasibility of assessing women’s decision-making values while using the website, and website usability/acceptability ratings. iterative stakeholder engagement optimized the pathways decision aid website to meet survivors’ and providers’ needs, including providing patient-friendly information and novel features such as interactive value clarification exercises, testimonials that model shared decision making, financial/referral resources, and a printable personal summary. survivors scored an average of 8.2 out of 13 (sd 1.6) on the fertility preservation knowledge scale. they rated genetic screening and having a biological child as strong factors in their decision-making, and 71% indicated a preference for egg freezing. most women (> 85%) rated pathways favorably, and all women (100%) said they would recommend it to other women. the pathways decision aid is a usable and acceptable tool to help women learn about fertility preservation. the pathways decision aid help women make well-informed values-based decisions and prevent future infertility-related distress.