TABLE 3.
DEMOGRAPHIC CHARACTERISTICS OF SURROGATE DECISION-MAKERS (N = 169)
| Characteristics of Surrogate Decision-Makers | n (%) | |
|---|---|---|
| Gender | ||
| Female | 94 (56) | |
| Race/ethnicity* | ||
| White | 116 (69) | |
| Hispanic | 28 (17) | |
| Multiethnic | 20 (12) | |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 15 (9) | |
| African-American | 9 (5) | |
| No response/Did not know | 5 (3) | |
| Native American | 3 (2) | |
| Relationship to patient | ||
| Spouse/partner | 66 (39) | |
| Child | 45 (27) | |
| Parent | 23 (13) | |
| Sibling | 20 (12) | |
| Other | 13 (8) | |
| Friend | 2 (1) | |
| Level of education | ||
| Some college or all college | 85 (50) | |
| Graduate or professional school | 43 (25) | |
| Some high school (incl. diploma or GED) | 40 (24) | |
| No response | 1 (1) | |
| Primary language | ||
| English | 153 (91) | |
| Spanish | 9 (5) | |
| Other† | 7 (4) | |
| Religious preference | ||
| Protestant | 59 (35) | |
| Catholic | 41 (24) | |
| None/agnostic/atheist | 38 (22) | |
| No response | 13 (8) | |
| Other Christian (Latter Day Saints/Mormons, Jehovah's Witness) | 6 (4) | |
| Buddhist | 4 (2) | |
| Jewish | 3 (2) | |
| Other (including Wiccan) | 2 (1) | |
| Hindu | 2 (1) | |
| Islam | 1 (1) | |
| Importance of religion/spiritual beliefs in everyday life | ||
| Very important | 77 (45) | |
| Fairly important | 37 (22) | |
| Not too important | 33 (20) | |
| Declined response | 17 (10) | |
| Not at all important | 5 (3) | |
*
Sums are greater than n = 169 family members because some individuals identified with more than one race/ethnicity.
†
Includes Cantonese, Korean, Russian, Asian Indian, and “unspecified.”