Niki Ver Donck

Niki Ver Donck is a PhD candidate in the department of Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy at the university of Leuven, Belgium.

Her research aims at improving shared decision making in clinical practice. In collaboration with her industrial partners, ISMS and Mindbytes, and the university hospital of Leuven, she developed a decision aid for patients with hormone-sensitive breast cancer. The decision aid informs patients on potential therapeutic options and helps them to clarify the value they place on the benefits, harms and uncertainties associated with every option. The decision aid comprises three modules: an educational module, a scenario-based module that illustrates the impact on quality of life per decision option and a value clarification exercise, consisting of an Adaptive Conjoint Analysis experiment. The results of the ACA will be used to determine the treatment option most in line with personal preferences. The attribute importances will be communicated to the treating physician to optimally discuss treatment options with a patient during consultation. The decision aid will be alpha tested in a research setting using individual interviews and will afterwards be beta tested in a clinical study.