Table 1. Demographics and Baseline Characteristics in a Trial of a Communication Guide.
| Characteristic | Intervention (n = 1255) | Usual care (n = 1257) |
|---|---|---|
| Age, median (IQR), y | 70 (63-80) | 70 (62-80) |
| Sex, No. (%) | ||
| Female | 543 (43.3) | 513 (40.8) |
| Male | 712 (56.7) | 744 (59.2) |
| Race and ethnicity, No./total (%)a | ||
| American Indian or Alaska Native | 21/1218 (1.7) | 24/1216 (2.0) |
| Asian | 143/1218 (11.7) | 149/1216 (12.3) |
| Black | 168/1218 (13.8) | 148/1216 (12.2) |
| Hispanic | 77/1248 (6.2) | 73/1249 (5.8) |
| Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander | 4/1218 (0.3) | 9/1216 (0.7) |
| Non-Hispanic | 1171/1248 (93.8) | 1176/1249 (94.2) |
| White | 882/1218 (72.4) | 886/1216 (72.9) |
| Minoritized race or ethnicity, No./total (%)b | 409/1224 (33.4) | 394/1220 (32.3) |
| Marital status, No./total (%) | ||
| Married | 502/1238 (40.5) | 515/1242 (41.5) |
| Single | 346/1238 (27.9) | 349/1242 (28.1) |
| Widowed | 199/1238 (16.1) | 187/1242 (15.1) |
| Divorced or separated | 191/1238 (15.4) | 191/1242 (15.4) |
| Limited spoken English proficiency, No. (%) | ||
| No | 1061 (84.5) | 1078 (85.8) |
| Yes (prefer another spoken language) | 186 (14.8) | 171 (13.6) |
| Use American Sign Language or need interpreter or interpreter services | 3 (0.3) | 0 |
| Preferred language not documented | 5 (0.4) | 8 (0.6) |
| Chronic illness (categories are not mutually exclusive), No. (%)c | ||
| Coronary artery disease | 424 (33.8) | 442 (35.2) |
| Heart failure | 356 (28.4) | 342 (27.2) |
| Lung disease | 339 (27.0) | 341 (27.1) |
| Kidney failure | 301 (24.0) | 326 (25.9) |
| Cancer | 300 (23.9) | 296 (23.5) |
| Peripheral vascular disease | 269 (21.4) | 269 (21.4) |
| Diabetes | 190 (15.1) | 196 (15.6) |
| Dementia | ||
| History of dementia at randomizationd | 140 (11.2) | 140 (11.1) |
| Expanded definition for history of dementiae | 172 (13.7) | 183 (14.6) |
| Liver disease | 163 (13.0) | 152 (12.1) |
| Deyo-Charlson Comorbidity Index, median (IQR)f | 4 (2-6) | 4 (3-6) |
| Advance directive in EHR prior to admission, No. (%) | 97 (7.7) | 134 (10.7) |
| Designated power of attorney prior to enrollment, No. (%) | 154 (12.3) | 167 (13.3) |
| POLST prior to enrollment, No. (%) | 94 (7.5) | 90 (7.2) |
| Study site, No. (%) | ||
| County hospital | 485 (38.6) | 487 (38.7) |
| Community hospital | 328 (26.1) | 327 (26.0) |
| University hospital | 442 (35.2) | 443 (35.2) |
Abbreviations: EHR, electronic health record; POLST, Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment.
Determined from EHR patient registration data using fixed categories.
Patients were considered minoritized if they had known minority race or known minority ethnicity. The denominators of 1224 (intervention) and 1220 (usual care) reflect the sum of (1) patients with known race and known ethnicity, (2) patients with known non-White race and unknown ethnicity, and (3) patients with known Hispanic ethnicity and unknown race.
Determined through EHR extraction of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), diagnosis codes relevant to each chronic illness for the 2 years prior to the patient’s hospital admission.
Based on ICD-10 diagnosis codes in the EHR recorded at any time within the 2 years prior to the patient’s hospital admission or from an EHR indication of history of dementia by manual screening.
Based on additional manual abstraction of EHR records after randomization.
Based on the sum of weighted scores assigned to 17 comorbidities (range, 0-26) identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, codes and ICD-10 codes. Higher scores are prognostic of higher mortality.