Exploring the impact of surgeon-reported gender on palliative care utilization in geriatric trauma patients.

INTRODUCTION: Geriatric trauma research increasingly supports the use of Palliative Care (PC). We surveyed trauma surgeon for perspectives on PC usage. Significant gender differences were identified, necessitating post-hoc investigation. METHODS: A post-hoc gender comparative analysis was completed on data collected from a national survey of trauma surgeons investigating decision-making and barriers to PC consults for geriatric trauma. RESULTS: Sixty-four members responded (2.8 ​%). Women surgeons identified reason for a PC consult as: "when trauma team does not agree with patient/family wishes" (p ​= ​0.009), "different members of the team do not agree on the plan of care" (p ​= ​0.023) and "additional patient/family support needed" (p ​= ​0.023). Women respondents more commonly reported PC consultation barriers as: "Patient/family misconception of PC" (p ​= ​0.001), "concern that patient/family will lose hope" (p ​= ​0.014) while men more commonly responded "no barriers to PC consults in my practice" (p ​= ​0.029). CONCLUSIONS: The identified gender differences in PC consultation use and barriers provides interesting data to support further studies specifically investigating these observations.

Duke Scholars

Author Wil Leonard Santivasi Medicine, Geriatrics and Palliative Care