Nurses’ perceptions of shared decision-making with older adults using home care services in South Korea: a cross-sectional study

Background: Older adults receiving home care often face complex decisions. This study explored how home care nurses in South Korea perceive these decisions and their involvement in shared decision-making (SDM), aiming to inform better support strategies for both clients and care providers. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 154 home care nurses between August and September 2023. Descriptive statistics, ANOVA, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were used, with significance set at p < 0.05. Results: Nurses identified ‘whether to stay at home or move’ as the most difficult decision faced by older adults. Although nurses reported a moderate-to-high level of self-perceived SDM involvement (3.73 ± 0.80), they were less involved than family caregivers. Factors significantly predicting higher SDM involvement included job field (β = 0.31, p < .001), duration of home care experience (β = 0.17, p = .04) and the frequency of decisions encountered by older adults (β = 0.27, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Results highlighted the need for support for nurses to address the difficulties faced by older adults in making healthcare-related decisions about their place of residence and indicated comparable involvement in SDM between nurses working in long-term care centres and hospital home visiting centres.