Amputation Decision Aid launch!

Dear colleagues,

We’re very excited to reconnect as we launch the Amputation Decision Aid website. The website includes a collection of freely available resources to help people make more informed decisions about partial foot amputation due to peripheral arterial disease.

At some point during the research and development phase, we’ve personally connected with well over 100 different people. Some of you will have reached out following a conference, or expressed interest in using these resources in clinical practice. Others will have participated in the expert panels that helped guide this work. Your support and encouragement has been motivating, and a reminder of the need for the resources we’ve developed.

“We want to fundamentally change the way decisions are made about amputation surgery. We want to ensure people have access to meaningful conversations with a healthcare provider; conversations that include accurate and unbiased information about their treatment options, the likely outcomes, as well as the risks. We want to see people supported as they deliberate on such a difficult decision. Only then can people make truly informed decisions about amputation surgery.”

– Associate Professor Michael Dillon, La Trobe University.

We are so pleased to reconnect during this launch of the Amputation Decision Aid, and to encourage you to explore the website and make use of the shared decision-making resources including the:

·    Amputation Decision Aid - specifically written for people facing the prospect of partial foot amputation due to peripheral arterial disease. It includes unbiased information about the different options, the likely outcomes, and risks of complications in simple terms that are easily understood.

·    Amputation Discussion Guide – a companion resources for healthcare professionals that includes up-to-date research evidence and example conversation starters to facilitate meaningful conversations tailored to the needs of each individual patient.

·    Training videos – a series of five, short, animated videos to help healthcare providers learn more about shared decision-making, and how to use our resources in clinical practice.

Given your interest and support over time, we would be grateful if you would:

·    Read our launch information on LinkedIn. Please like, comment, and share the article with your colleagues

·    Check out our website to learn more

·    Promote the website and its resources through your professional networks

·    Follow us on Twitter to stay up-to-date with our work. Please like, comment, or retweet our posts

If you’d like further information, please do not hesitate to contact us. We’d love to hear from you.

We would like to take this chance to acknowledge and thank our partners; in particular the generous financial support provided by the American Orthotic Prosthetic Association.

In closing, we wanted to again say thank you for your interest and engagement during the development of these shared decision-making resources. We hope you find the resources valuable. In due course, we would love to hear about your experience using them, and how we might make them better in the years ahead.

Regards,

Michael

Dr. Michael Dillon, PhD. on behalf of the developers.