Race and Ethnicity and Satisfaction With Communication in the Intensive Care Unit.

The study was single-center and cross-sectional, so results may not apply to other hospitals or to how communication changes over time. Caregiver ratings were self-reported and not observed, so recall bias and social desirability bias may have inflated high scores. The response rate was 49.5%, and less satisfied families may have been less likely to participate, although fewer than 20% of those contacted declined. The end-of-life communication survey was not analyzed because many caregivers did not answer key questions, so the study cannot describe the quality of end-of-life communication. Only English-speaking families were included, and education data were available for only 63 respondents, so language and health literacy effects could not be fully assessed. The study was slightly underpowered to detect a 10-point difference in FS-ICU scores.

Do not conclude that ICU teams communicate equally well about dying across races and ethnicities. The null result was for overall satisfaction, and the end-of-life communication survey was not analyzed because many caregivers could not answer its items.