Parental Support for Interventional Radiology Residents

Author

Lu Mao

Published

February 10, 2026

Statistical analyses

Categorical variables were summarized using counts and percentages, while continuous variables were summarized using means with standard deviations and medians with interquartile ranges. Stratified analyses were conducted to explore potential differences in key outcomes by program type, gender,and parental status (number of children). Due to the exploratory nature and small sample size, formal statistical tests were limited to Fisher’s exact test for categorical comparisons with sparse cells, and Kruskal-Wallis test for ordinal associations. Awareness gaps were assessed by calculating the proportion of “Unsure” responses for key policy/resource items. Geographic variation was explored descriptively without formal testing due to sample size constraints. All analyses were conducted using R (version 4.3.1).

Results

Table 1: Descriptive summaries of parental leave and lactation support resources (overall sample).

Item	N = 45¹
took_parental_leave	25 (56%)
must_use_vac_sick
No	34 (76%)
Unsure	4 (8.9%)
Yes	7 (16%)
extended_leave_beyond_6w
No	6 (13%)
Unsure	16 (36%)
Yes	23 (51%)
scheduling_flex
No	3 (6.7%)
Unsure	4 (8.9%)
Yes	38 (84%)
lactation_policies
No	5 (11%)
Unsure	20 (44%)
Yes	20 (44%)
lactating_or_prior
N/A	24 (53%)
No	15 (33%)
Yes	6 (13%)
portable_pumps
No	13 (29%)
Unsure	27 (60%)
Yes	5 (11%)
lactation_spaces
Limited to certain sites.	12 (27%)
No	1 (2.2%)
Unsure	13 (29%)
Yes	19 (42%)
protected_pumping_time
No	7 (16%)
Unsure	29 (64%)
Yes	9 (20%)
stop_breastfeeding_early
Agree	2 (4.4%)
Disagree	1 (2.2%)
N/A	39 (87%)
Neutral	3 (6.7%)
daycare	17 (38%)
parenting_mentorship
No	20 (44%)
Unsure	18 (40%)
Yes	7 (16%)
family_social_events
Maybe	8 (18%)
No	6 (13%)
Yes	31 (69%)
¹ n (%)

Table 2: Demographic characteristics of the sample (overall).

Characteristic	N = 45¹
gender
Female	17 (38%)
Male	28 (62%)
age	32.24 (2.90); median 32.00 [30.00, 34.00]
region
MD	1 (2.2%)
Midwest e.g. IL, MI, OH, MN, MO, IA	9 (20%)
Northeast e.g. MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA	19 (42%)
South eg FL, NC, VA, KY, TN, AL, TX, OK, LA	6 (13%)
West e.g. CO, AZ, UT, CA, WA, OR	10 (22%)
training_level
Fifth-year IR resident	17 (38%)
First-year IR resident	4 (8.9%)
Fourth-year IR resident	10 (22%)
PGY-8 IR Fellow	1 (2.2%)
Second-year IR resident	7 (16%)
Third-year IR resident	6 (13%)
program_type
Integrated	35 (78%)
ESIR	6 (13%)
Independent	4 (8.9%)
Other/Unknown	0 (0%)
program_practice_type
Academic	44 (98%)
Community	1 (2.2%)
n_children_cat
0	17 (40%)
1	13 (31%)
2+	12 (29%)
¹ n (%); Mean (SD); median Median [IQR]

Table 3: Stratified summaries of key outcomes by program type, gender, and children status (exploratory).

Characteristic	Overall, N = 45¹	Female, N = 17¹	Male, N = 28¹	p-value²
adequate_support_agree				0.3
Disagree/Strongly disagree	3 (7.7%)	1 (7.7%)	2 (7.7%)
Neutral	15 (38%)	7 (54%)	8 (31%)
Agree/Strongly agree	21 (54%)	5 (38%)	16 (62%)
strong_support_agree				0.5
Disagree/Strongly disagree	3 (6.7%)	1 (5.9%)	2 (7.1%)
Neutral	16 (36%)	8 (47%)	8 (29%)
Agree/Strongly agree	26 (58%)	8 (47%)	18 (64%)
discouraged_agree				>0.9
Disagree/Strongly disagree	25 (56%)	9 (53%)	16 (57%)
Neutral	6 (13%)	2 (12%)	4 (14%)
Agree/Strongly agree	14 (31%)	6 (35%)	8 (29%)
burnout				0.10
Extremely severe. I am burned out. I find it difficult to work, and I may need professional help to cope.	1 (2.2%)	1 (5.9%)	0 (0%)
Mild. My energy and enthusiasm have declined, but I won't describe myself as burned out.	26 (58%)	9 (53%)	17 (61%)
Moderate. I am experiencing symptoms of emotional, physical, or mental exhaustion.	9 (20%)	3 (18%)	6 (21%)
Not at all. I have no symptoms of burnout.	6 (13%)	1 (5.9%)	5 (18%)
Severe. I constantly feel overwhelmed, emotionally, physically, or mentally exhausted.	3 (6.7%)	3 (18%)	0 (0%)
¹ n (%)
² Fisher’s exact test

Table 4: Stratification of burnout levels by number of children (exploratory).

Characteristic	Overall, N = 42¹	0, N = 17¹	1, N = 13¹	2+, N = 12¹
burnout
Extremely severe. I am burned out. I find it difficult to work, and I may need professional help to cope.	1 (2.4%)	1 (5.9%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Mild. My energy and enthusiasm have declined, but I won't describe myself as burned out.	24 (57%)	9 (53%)	6 (46%)	9 (75%)
Moderate. I am experiencing symptoms of emotional, physical, or mental exhaustion.	9 (21%)	3 (18%)	5 (38%)	1 (8.3%)
Not at all. I have no symptoms of burnout.	6 (14%)	4 (24%)	1 (7.7%)	1 (8.3%)
Severe. I constantly feel overwhelmed, emotionally, physically, or mentally exhausted.	2 (4.8%)	0 (0%)	1 (7.7%)	1 (8.3%)
¹ n (%)

Table 5: Comparison of perceived support vs lactation resources (exploratory).

Characteristic	Overall, N = 39¹	Disagree/Strongly disagree, N = 3¹	Neutral, N = 15¹	Agree/Strongly agree, N = 21¹
lactation_spaces
Limited to certain sites.	12 (31%)	3 (100%)	4 (27%)	5 (24%)
No	1 (2.6%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (4.8%)
Unsure	12 (31%)	0 (0%)	5 (33%)	7 (33%)
Yes	14 (36%)	0 (0%)	6 (40%)	8 (38%)
protected_pumping_time
No	6 (15%)	1 (33%)	3 (20%)	2 (9.5%)
Unsure	24 (62%)	2 (67%)	9 (60%)	13 (62%)
Yes	9 (23%)	0 (0%)	3 (20%)	6 (29%)
lactation_policies
No	5 (13%)	0 (0%)	2 (13%)	3 (14%)
Unsure	18 (46%)	1 (33%)	7 (47%)	10 (48%)
Yes	16 (41%)	2 (67%)	6 (40%)	8 (38%)
¹ n (%)

Table 6: Awareness gaps for key policies/resources (proportion of Unsure responses).

Policy/Resource item	N	Unsure (n)	Unsure (%)
Protected pumping time	45	29	64.4
Portable pumps	45	27	60.0
Lactation policies	45	20	44.4
Parenting mentorship	45	18	40.0
Extended leave beyond 6w	45	16	35.6
Must use vac sick	45	4	8.9

Table 7: Geographic variation in support perceptions and key resources (descriptive).

Characteristic	MD, N = 1¹	Midwest e.g. IL, MI, OH, MN, MO, IA, N = 9¹	Northeast e.g. MA, CT, RI, NY, NJ, PA, N = 19¹	South eg FL, NC, VA, KY, TN, AL, TX, OK, LA, N = 6¹	West e.g. CO, AZ, UT, CA, WA, OR, N = 10¹
took_parental_leave	0 (0%)	5 (56%)	14 (74%)	3 (50%)	3 (30%)
must_use_vac_sick
No	1 (100%)	7 (78%)	16 (84%)	2 (33%)	8 (80%)
Unsure	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	1 (5.3%)	1 (17%)	1 (10%)
Yes	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	2 (11%)	3 (50%)	1 (10%)
extended_leave_beyond_6w
No	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	1 (5.3%)	1 (17%)	2 (20%)
Unsure	1 (100%)	4 (44%)	7 (37%)	3 (50%)	1 (10%)
Yes	0 (0%)	3 (33%)	11 (58%)	2 (33%)	7 (70%)
scheduling_flex
No	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	1 (5.3%)	1 (17%)	0 (0%)
Unsure	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	1 (5.3%)	1 (17%)	1 (10%)
Yes	1 (100%)	7 (78%)	17 (89%)	4 (67%)	9 (90%)
lactation_policies
No	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	1 (5.3%)	1 (17%)	1 (10%)
Unsure	0 (0%)	4 (44%)	11 (58%)	0 (0%)	5 (50%)
Yes	1 (100%)	3 (33%)	7 (37%)	5 (83%)	4 (40%)
lactating_or_prior
N/A	0 (0%)	4 (44%)	9 (47%)	2 (33%)	9 (90%)
No	1 (100%)	4 (44%)	5 (26%)	4 (67%)	1 (10%)
Yes	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	5 (26%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
portable_pumps
No	0 (0%)	4 (44%)	7 (37%)	1 (17%)	1 (10%)
Unsure	1 (100%)	5 (56%)	8 (42%)	5 (83%)	8 (80%)
Yes	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	4 (21%)	0 (0%)	1 (10%)
lactation_spaces
Limited to certain sites.	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	5 (26%)	1 (17%)	4 (40%)
No	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Unsure	0 (0%)	4 (44%)	6 (32%)	0 (0%)	3 (30%)
Yes	1 (100%)	2 (22%)	8 (42%)	5 (83%)	3 (30%)
protected_pumping_time
No	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	3 (16%)	1 (17%)	1 (10%)
Unsure	1 (100%)	4 (44%)	13 (68%)	3 (50%)	8 (80%)
Yes	0 (0%)	3 (33%)	3 (16%)	2 (33%)	1 (10%)
stop_breastfeeding_early
Agree	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	2 (11%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Disagree	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	1 (5.3%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
N/A	1 (100%)	9 (100%)	13 (68%)	6 (100%)	10 (100%)
Neutral	0 (0%)	0 (0%)	3 (16%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
daycare	1 (100%)	1 (11%)	6 (32%)	2 (33%)	7 (70%)
parenting_mentorship
No	0 (0%)	6 (67%)	6 (32%)	2 (33%)	6 (60%)
Unsure	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	8 (42%)	4 (67%)	4 (40%)
Yes	1 (100%)	1 (11%)	5 (26%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
family_social_events
Maybe	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	4 (21%)	0 (0%)	3 (30%)
No	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	2 (11%)	1 (17%)	2 (20%)
Yes	1 (100%)	7 (78%)	13 (68%)	5 (83%)	5 (50%)
adequate_support_agree
Disagree/Strongly disagree	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	2 (12%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Neutral	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	8 (47%)	2 (50%)	3 (38%)
Agree/Strongly agree	1 (100%)	6 (67%)	7 (41%)	2 (50%)	5 (63%)
discouraged_agree
Disagree/Strongly disagree	1 (100%)	6 (67%)	9 (47%)	4 (67%)	5 (50%)
Neutral	0 (0%)	2 (22%)	4 (21%)	0 (0%)	0 (0%)
Agree/Strongly agree	0 (0%)	1 (11%)	6 (32%)	2 (33%)	5 (50%)
¹ n (%)