Communication Quality Predicts Psychological Well-Being and Satisfaction in Family Surrogates of Hospitalized Older Adults: An Observational Study

Background Many hospitalized older adults require family surrogates to make decisions, but surrogates may perceive that the quality of medical decisions is low and may have poor psychological outcomes after the patient’s hospitalization. Objective To determine the relationship between communication quality and high-quality medical decisions, psychological well-being, and satisfaction for surrogates of hospitalized older adults. Design Observational study at three hospitals in a Midwest metropolitan area. Participants Hospitalized older adults (65+ years) admitted to medicine and medical intensive care units who were unable to make medical decisions, and their family surrogates. Among 799 eligible dyads, 364 (45.6%) completed the study. Main Measures Communication was assessed during hospitalization using the information and emotional support subscales of the Family Inpatient Communication Survey. Decision quality was assessed with the Decisional Conflict Scale. Outcomes assessed at baseline and 4–6 weeks post-discharge included anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7), depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), post-traumatic stress (Impact of Event Scale-Revised), and satisfaction (Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems). Key Results The mean patient age was 81.9 years (SD 8.32); 62% were women, and 28% African American. Among surrogates, 67% were adult children. Six to eight weeks post-discharge, 22.6% of surrogates reported anxiety (11.3% moderate–severe anxiety); 29% reported depression, (14.0% moderate–severe), and 14.6% had high levels of post-traumatic stress. Emotional support was associated with lower odds of anxiety (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.65, 95% CI 0.50, 0.85) and depression (AOR = 0.80, 95% CI 0.65, 0.99) at follow-up. In multivariable linear regression, emotional support was associated with lower post-traumatic stress (β = −0.30, p = 0.003) and higher decision quality (β = −0.44, p