Alexia Torke
Assistant ProfessorFairbanks Center for Medical Ethics
ude[dot]iupui[at]ekrota
Surrogate decision making for older adults
My research addresses how family members make difficult medical decisions for older adults who are unable to make their own decisions due to dementia, delirium and other conditions that impair cognitive function. I use the evidence generated from my research to train medical students, residents and ethics fellows how to make decisions together with family members and other surrogates. I work with an interdisciplinary research team that includes physicians, a social scientist with a focus on communication studies and a theologian. My empirical research utilizes both qualitative and quantitative methods to address questions related to surrogate decision making.