“That's Where the Arguments Come in”: A Qualitative Analysis of Booster Sessions following a Brief Intervention for Drug Use and Intimate Partner Violence in the Emergency Department

Although booster phone calls have been used to enhance the impact of brief interventions in the emergency department, there has been less number of studies describing the content of these boosters. We conducted a qualitative analysis of booster calls occurring two weeks after an initial Web-based intervention for drug use and intimate partner violence (IPV) among women presenting for emergency care, with the objective of identifying the following: progress toward goals set during the initial emergency department visit, barriers to positive change, and additional resources and services needed in order to inform improvements in future booster sessions. The initial thematic framework was developed by summarizing codes by major themes and subthemes; the study team collaboratively decided on a final thematic framework. Eighteen participants completed the booster call. Most of them described a therapeutic purpose for their drug use. Altering the social milieu was the primary means of drug use change; this seemed to increase isolation of women already in abusive relationships. Women described IPV as interwoven with drug use. Participants identified challenges in attending substance use treatment service and domestic violence agencies. Women with substance use disorders and in abusive relationships face specific barriers to reducing drug use and to seeking help after a brief intervention

Improving the preoperative assessment of older adults considering surgery: The need for a structured curriculum during surgery residency

Background: Over half of surgeries in the United States are performed on older adults. The aims of this study were to quantify geriatric-relevant discussion topics and assessments during the consent process and to assess the need for a structured approach to consent older patients. Methods: General surgery residents at a single institution answered questions about content of the informed consent process and preoperative assessment in adult and geriatric (> 65) patients. Questions addressed frequency of geriatric- relevant discussions, assessments and consultations for the two patient groups. Results: Part 1 was completed by 66/75 residents (88.0%). Most residents received training in informed consent during medical school or residency (95%). Common avenues for training were direct observation of attending surgeons or senior residents (85%), followed by didactic teaching (47%) and independent reading (30%). Only three residents (two PGY1s and one PGY2) reported receiving specific training in how to achieve informed consent in older patients. Part 2 was completed by 47/56 eligible residents (83.9%). Postoperative expectations (85.1%), living situation (53.2%), postoperative goals (53.2%), and advanced directives (42.6%) were most commonly discussed. Cognitive testing (19.1%), geriatrics consults (14.9%), and frailty scores (4.3%) were rarely addressed. There were no correlations between discussion of this information with resident age, level in residency, self-identified gender, or self-identification as a member of a racial or ethnic minority. Conclusions: Geriatric-relevant topics and assessments occurred sporadically during the resident-led informed consent process and were more common with senior residents. Training in geriatric relevant informed consent rarely occurs during residency. These results, if generalizable across surgical training sites, highlight the need for a structured curriculum to address geriatric-relevant perioperative concerns