Aftershocks of Tuskegee?

The purpose of our exploratory study was to identify clinical & environmental factors surrounding new-onset delirium in critically ill older adults. The study included a convenience sample of 13 English-speaking patients admitted to a surgical-trauma-burn intensive care unit (STBICU) or medical care intensive unit (MICU), in a university-related medical center in Virginia. We screened all patients 65 years of age & older who were admitted to the STBICU & MICU & collected data from & about these participants each day for five days or until discharge (or death). In addition to the 13 participants (all white) enrolled in the study, 5 eligible patients refused to participate. Four (80%) of those who refused to participate were African-American. Adapted from the source document.