OUR MISSION
is to foster person-centred healthcare and shared decision making worldwide.
Our vision is that healthcare decisions are well-informed, and based on collaboration between persons and their health care providers.
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Current executive board members (period 07/2024-07/2026):
Members of the executive board are elected by the general assembly for the duration of two years.
Prof. Kirsten McCaffery
President
Location: Australia
Kirsten McCaffery is a Professor of Behavioural Science and holds a Principal Research Fellowship at the Sydney School of Public Health, University of Sydney. She has developed and evaluated patient decision aids across a range of clinical areas and has a special interest in supporting shared decision making in populations with lower health literacy and among those who are socioeconomically disadvantaged.
Prof. Anik Giguère
Vice-President
Location: Canada
Anik Giguère is a Professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine at Laval University in Québec city. She studies the design and implementation of decision aids and educational programs to enable older adults to make health decisions based on evidence and on their experiences and values.
Prof. Paulina Bravo
Secretary
Location: Chile
Paulina Bravo is an Associate Professor and the Director of Research and Doctoral Studies at the School of Nursing at the Pontificia Universidad Católica, in Santiago, Chile. She leads the Health Participation Research group at her school. Her research focuses on the development and implementation of patient decision aids and patient-centered care interventions.
Dr Fülöp Scheibler
Treasurer
Location: Germany
Fülöp Scheibler is senior associate at the National Competency Centre for Shared Decision Making at the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Kiel, Germany. He is also Co-founder and Partner of the SHARE TO CARE. Patient Centered Care GmbH. Since 2018 he was involved in the development of >80 evidence based online patient decision aids for the project “Making SDM A Reality” in Kiel. His research interest is focusing on large scale implementation of SDM, evidence based medicine and health services research.
Declaration of Interest
Dr Marla Clayman
Board Member
Location: United States
Dr. Clayman is a dedicated health services and health communication researcher, specializing in patient engagement and healthcare decision-making. She is a Research Health Scientist at the US Veterans Health Administration and an Associate Professor at the UMass Chan Medical School. She works to create and sustain environments that help patients and families receive and use information that meets their emotional and cognitive needs. She has been a Fulbright Scholar in Norway and held numerous professional leadership positions.
Declaration of Interest
Dr Alejandra Martínez
Board Member: ECR Represetative
Location: United States
Alejandra Martínez is a research scientist at Dartmouth College. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). Her doctoral thesis aimed to understand healthcare in the interaction between pregnant migrant women and health professionals in Chile’s public health system. Her main research interests are health disparities and migration, power dynamics, patient-centered care, and shared decision-making.
Declaration of Interest
Dr Natalie Joseph-Williams
Board Member
Location: United Kindom
Natalie is a Reader in Improving Patient Care at Cardiff University's School of Medicine, and Associate Director of the Health and Care Research Wales Evidence Centre. Natalie has over seventeen years experience of researching, teaching, and implementing shared decision making, working closely with policy makers, healthcare organisations, clinical teams, and patients across the UK to embed this approach into routine clinical care.
Declaration of Interest
ECR Committee
Dr. Alejandra Martínez
Committee Chair
Location: United States
Alejandra Martínez is a research scientist at Dartmouth College. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile (PUC). Her doctoral thesis aimed to understand healthcare in the interaction between pregnant migrant women and health professionals in Chile’s public health system. Her main research interests are health disparities and migration, power dynamics, patient-centered care, and shared decision-making.
Dr. Eman Abukmail
Location: Australia
Dr Eman is currently pursuing her PhD at the Institute for Evidence-Based Healthcare, Bond University, Australia. Her research focuses on enhancing communication about prognosis and the natural history of illnesses to help patients make informed decisions. She is particularly passionate about improving healthcare delivery through shared decision making (SDM) and is actively involved in various SDM projects and initiatives. Dr. Eman is committed to expanding the impact and outreach of SDM practices. In addition to her research, she serves as the lead of the Early and Middle Career Researcher (EMCR) Network and co-directs the SDM Mentorship Program.
Weiwei Lu
Location: Hong Kong
Weiwei Lu is a PhD graduated from the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences at the City University of Hong Kong. She also got a master's degree of narrative therapy and community work from the University of Melbourne.
Her Ph.D. thesis applied a divided narrative approach to investigate the interplays among narrative, power, and agency in shared decision-making on cancer treatment. She has developed a narrative-based model of shared decision-making to advocate mutual engagement in physician and patient communication.
Simone Kienlin
Location: Norway
Simone serves as a Special Advisor for Shared Decision Making at the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority. She is also a PhD candidate at the E-Health, Integrative Care, and Innovation Center at the University Hospital of North Norway. Simone leads a strategic project at the Regional Health Authority aimed at enhancing the uptake of SDM through a comprehensive, multi-faceted implementation strategy. Additionally, in her role overseeing both regional and national SDM initiatives, Simone is spearheading the development and implementation of a modularized meta-curriculum titled "Ready for SDM," designed to effectively train healthcare professionals in SDM. Her research focuses on SDM training, measurement, and decision support such as patient decision aids, decision coaching and evidence-based health information.
Dr. Alex Waddell
Location: Australia
Dr Alex Waddell is a Research Fellow with Action Lab in the Department of Human Centred Computing. Alex's research utilises behavioural science, policy and programs to achieve health outcomes in the public sphere. Her research explores what helps and hinders the health system to support clinicians and patients to share decisions, through behaviour change and implementation science. Alex hopes her research can add to the field of shared decision making by utilising multiple parts of the healthcare system to support clinicians and patients through behaviour change. She specialises in evidence synthesis and qualitative research methods.
EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION
The ISDM Society is committed to increased equity, diversity and inclusion among its members.
We define diversity as differences in race, colour, place of origin, religion, immigrant and resident status, ethnic origin, ability, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, and age. Our efforts to ensure the inclusion of diverse and underrepresented populations include:
- Outreach to attract members of underrepresented groups
- Encouraging our members to approach people of underrepresented groups and encourage them to apply to become members.
The International Shared Decision Making Society
was founded in 2018 in Hamburg, Germany, as a scientific association. Its first general assembly of members was held on July 9, 2019, during the 10th ISDM conference in Québec City
LEGAL STRUCTURE
- The ISDM Society is an international non-for-profit scientific association.
- The society’s legal statute document is available for all here
COI POLICY
- ISDM Society basic COI statement:
- To prevent any conflicts of interest we neither seek nor accept funding from pharmaceutical companies or commercial organisations/enterprises with competing interests in the health decisions of patients or the public.
- Enterprises with competing interests may include for-profit companies/organisations which sell or promote products including, but not limited to: healthcare services, medications, devices or insurance policies.
- ISDM Society board member declaration of interests and process for decision making:
- All Board Members are required to complete personal declaration of interest statements and to disclose all relationships with commercial organisations.
- A Board Member :
- declares the nature and extent of any interest, direct or indirect, which he or she has in a proposed transaction or arrangement with the Society or in any transaction or arrangement entered into by the Society which has not previously been declared; and
- absents himself or herself from any discussions of the Board Member in which it is possible that a conflict of interest will arise between his or her duty to act solely in the interests of the Society and any personal interest (including but not limited to any financial interest).