Decisional Conflict Regarding Perioperative Oral Nutritional Supplementation in Gastric Cancer Patients Based on a Random Forest Model: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Background Identifying patients’ decisional conflict and its predictors is essential since it is a critical step before developing a patient decision aid for gastric cancer patients to promote decision‐making in perioperative oral nutritional supplementation. Aims To investigate the current status of decisional conflict and its relationship with decision preparation and decision participation regarding perioperative oral nutritional supplementation in gastric cancer patients and to explore the predictors of decisional conflict. Methods A convenience sampling method was employed to recruit inpatients undergoing radical gastrectomy for gastric cancer, and self‐reported questionnaires were used to collect data. The Random Forest model, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression, and multivariate stepwise linear regression analysis were employed for data analysis. Results A total of 181 patients with gastric cancer were investigated. 42.5% of them had no decisional conflict, and 57.5% of them had decisional conflict. 71.3% of them expressed a desire to engage in shared decision‐making, but only 29.3% of them actually participated in it. The actual type of decision‐making and knowledge about oral nutritional supplementation were predictors of decisional conflict. Conclusion Over half of the gastric cancer patients experienced decisional conflict regarding oral nutritional supplementation during the perioperative period. The actual type of decision‐making and knowledge about oral nutritional supplementation among gastric cancer patients are two predictors for decisional conflict. Healthcare professionals should consider the two predictors when developing a patient decision aid to provide decision support.