ASK Questions
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What is Ask Share Know?
ASK SHARE KNOW aims to encourage and empower people to be involved in decisions about their health.
Making decisions about our health is important. However, sometimes the decisions we face involve a lot of information that is new, and can seem difficult to understand.
Deciding about medical tests and treatments are some of the most stressful decisions we will have to make. BUT they are usually no more complex than other decisions we are used to making.
Provided we get the right information, we can all be involved in medical decision-making, and the good thing is, health professionals will share the decision making with you.
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About the project
The ASK SHARE KNOW project wants to help people to get the information they need, to share making medical decisions with health professionals.
To do this, we are suggesting that people ask health professionals three key questions. These questions give you the words to use when you are talking with a doctor or nurse. We also suggest you share important information about your life and preferences with your doctor or nurse.
And finally we suggest you use what you learn from these discussions to help you make decisions.
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3 questions to ask
Ask the 3 questions:
1. What are my options? (One option will always be wait and watch)
2. What are the possible benefits and harms of those options?
3. How likely are each of those benefits and harms to happen to me?
WHY ASK?
The more questions you ask the better health care you will receive from your health professional.
WHY SHARE?
The more you share, the more the health professional will be able to help give you the information you need. This will help you make a decision that is right for you. Sharing more with your health professional will make it more likely you will come to a decision you feel confident about.
WHY KNOW?
The more information you have, the better equipped you will be to make better decisions, and ultimately achieve better health outcomes. The more a part of the decision you are, the more likely you are to succeed in getting the benefits of that treatment. In the end, the more you ask and share, the more you will know.
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Watch the Ask film clip
To do this, we are suggesting that people ask health professionals three key questions. These questions give you the words to use when you are talking with a doctor or nurse. We also suggest you share important information about your life and preferences with your doctor or nurse.