390 - Evaluation of Adolescent Patients’ Trust in Their Physicians in a Pediatric Emergency Department
Monday, May 1, 2023
9:30 AM – 11:30 AM ET
Poster Number: 390 Publication Number: 390.406
Eden Efrem, Children's National Hospital, Silver Spring, MD, United States; Gia M. Badolato, Children's National Health System, Washington, DC, United States; Monika Lemke, Children's National Health System, Westminster, MD, United States; Monika Goyal, Children's National Medical Center, Washington, DC, United States
Clinical Research Assistant Children's National Hospital Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Background: There areracial and ethnic inequities in the management of pain when children present to emergency departments (ED) with abdominal pain or extremity injuries. Given that there are measurable inequities in care delivery, understanding potential disparities in the patient experience can help us develop interventions to deliver equitable care. Objective: To evaluate the patient experience and level of trust in physiciansamong adolescents presenting to the ED with abdominal pain or extremity injuries. Design/Methods: Adolescents ages 13-21 who presented to an urban tertiary pediatric ED with abdominal pain or extremity injuries from February 2022 to July 2022 were enrolled in a study assessing racial and ethnic inequities in pain management.Participants completed an electronic survey with items related to demographics, trust in physicians [measured using the validated Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale], and pain management.Logistic regression was used to investigate the association between raceandethnicity and patient trust in physicians. Results: Of the 45 adolescents surveyed, 44.4% identified asnon-Hispanic (NH)Black, 13.3% asNH-White, 33.3% as Hispanic/Latino, 4.4% as ‘Other’ [comprised of patients identified as Asian or ‘Other’], and 4.4% as ‘I prefer not to answer’. The median age was 15.1 (IQR 13.0-16.0) years old. Most patients (n = 34 [75.6%]) reported they were offered pain medication. Of these 34 patients, 32 (94.1%) accepted pain medication.Most patients (n = 35 [77.8%]) reported that they have “complete trust” in their doctor. Over half (64.4%, n=29) reported that they have “no worries” about putting their life in their doctor’s hands. Nearly all patients (91.1%, n=41) reported that their doctor is “totally honest” in telling them about the different treatment options available for their condition. There were no racial or ethnic differences between patients who trusted their physicians compared to those who did not trust their physicians when comparing the responses of NH-Black patients (OR 1.1; 95% CI 0.2-7.4) and Hispanic/Latino patients (OR 3.0; 95% CI 0.4-21.9)to NH-white patients.
Conclusion(s): Themajority of adolescent patients surveyed had trust in their physicians and reported being offered pain medication while in the ED for abdominal pain or extremity injuries. There were no significant differences in patient trust in physicians based on their race or ethnicity.Further research is needed to identify factors associated with adolescent patients’ trust in their physicians.
