Research Activities

March 2005, No. 295

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Preventing diabetes complications could save $2.5 billion annually

Patient Safety/Quality

New study on computerized order entry finds flaws that could lead to errors, but there are opportunities for improvement
Computerized standing orders can increase rates of flu and pneumonia vaccination of hospital patients
Skipping meals or breaks may contribute to nurse burnout and jeopardize nurses' health
Health plans take action to improve services for members with limited English proficiency

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research

Increased use of early revascularization in heart attack patients with cardiogenic shock will save lives
Enhanced CT performs better than unenhanced CT in predicting extent of damaged brain tissue in acute stroke patients
Androgen-deprivation therapy for prostate cancer increases the risk of fracture among elderly men

Pharmaceutical Research

Use of certain antidepressants may increase risk of hip fractures among older patients
Pharmacy data can help public health officials identify TB cases and assess their management by private-sector physicians
Pharmacogenomic drug development raises new challenges for drug regulatory agencies
Studies of COX-2 inhibitors have ramifications for other drugs and pharmaceutical policies

Primary Care Research

Primary care providers miss opportunities during office visits for adult preventive care
Family doctors and patients tend to agree on what constitutes competent patient communication

Children's Health

Late bottle-weaning is associated with an increased risk of overweight
Significant exposure to tobacco smoke and underuse of controller medications exacerbate asthma symptoms among Head Start children
Limited direct evidence supports the many recommendations for preventive care during well-child care visits
Combined video and computer game use outpaces daily TV viewing among preadolescents

Women's Health

Women 65 and older used more medications and spent more for them than same-age men during the period 1999 to 2001

Disparities/Minority Health

Ethnic differences in willingness to undergo knee replacement may explain disparities in receipt of this procedure
Race appears to be a factor in how doctors communicate with their patients during primary care visits
Minority physicians in Maryland are more likely than white physicians to be denied managed care contracts

HIV/AIDS Research

Clinics funded by the Ryan White CARE Act provide more specialized and comprehensive HIV care than other HIV clinics

Health Care Costs and Financing

Rural workers have less employment-related health insurance for several reasons, including low wages and smaller employers

Agency News and Notes

Collaboration within the health research community can move us from information about quality to information for decisionmaking

Announcements

Grant final reports now available from NTIS
Research Briefs

Current as of March 2005
AHRQ Publication No. 05-0062

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. March 2005, No. 295. AHRQ Publication No. 05-0062. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/mar05/

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