You Are Here: AHRQ Home > News & Information > Articles of Interests

Articles of Interest

August 3, 2007

This weekly compilation of articles appearing in recently released journals and newsletters includes:

Articles funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Articles mentioning or discussing AHRQ staff, activities, and publications/products.
Articles related to AHRQ-funded Evidence-based Practice Centers.
Articles related to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force or Put Prevention into Practice program.
Articles mentioning the National Healthcare Disparities Report and National Healthcare Quality Report.
Other research using AHRQ data or products.

AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles

Academic Emergency Medicine
Richman IB, Clark S, Sullivan AF, et al. National study of the relation of primary care shortages to emergency department utilization. Acad Emerg Med 2007 Mar; 14(30:279-82. [Supported by grant R01 HS13099.]

American Indian and Alaska Native Mental Health Research
Moy E, Smith CR, Johansson P, Andrews R. Gaps in data for American Indians and Alaska Natives in the National Healthcare Disparities Report. Am Indian Alsk Native Ment Health Res 2006; 13(1):52-69. [First and third authors are current and former researchers, respectively, in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, and fourth author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets; uses AHRQ's National Healthcare Disparities Report, 2004.]

American Journal of Medical Quality
Ho K, Kelley E, Brady J, Clancy CM. Missed opportunities for quality improvement. Am J Med Qual 2007 Jul-Aug; 22(4):296-9. [First three authors are National Healthcare Disparities Report staff and researchers in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety; fourth author is AHRQ director.]

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Mercer SL, De Vinney BJ, Fine LJ, Green LW, Dougherty D. Study designs for effectiveness and translation research: identifying trade-offs. Am J Prev Med 2007 Aug; 33(2):139-54. [Fourth author is researcher in AHRQ's Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations.]

Annals of Emergency Medicine
Auble TE, Hsieh M, McCausland JB, et al. Comparison of four clinical prediction rules for estimating risk in heart failure. Ann Emerg Med 2007 Aug; 50(2):e1-2. [Supported by grant R01 HS10888-01.]

Breast Cancer Research and Treatment
Tan A, Freeman DH Jr, Goodwin JS, et al. Variation in false-positive rates of mammography reading among 1067 radiologists: a population-based assessment. Breast Cancer Res Treat 2006 Dec; 100(3):309-18. [Supported by grant R24 HS011618.]

Child: Care, Health, and Development
Murphy NA, Christian B, Caplin DA, et al. The health of caregivers for children with disabilities: caregiver perspectives. Child Care Health Dev 2007 Mar; 33(2):180-7. [Supported by grant P20 HS11826.]

Current Opinion in Psychiatry
Henggeler SW. Juvenile drug courts; emerging outcomes and key research issues. Curr Opin Psychiatry 2007 May; 20(3):242-6. [Supported by grant P01 HS10871.]

Health Care Financing Review
Teleki SS, Kanouse DE, Elliott MN, et al. Understanding the reporting practices of CAHPS sponsors. Health Care Financ Rev 2007 Spring; 28(3):17-30. [Supported by grant 5 U18 HS09204; uses AHRQ's Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS®) as study focus.]

Spranca MD, Elliott MN, Shaw R, et al. Disenrollment information and Medicare plan choice: is more information better? Health Care Financ Rev 2007 Spring; 28(3):47-59. [Supported by grant 2 U01 HS09204-10; uses CAHPS® measures.]

Caldis T. Composite health plan quality scales. Health Care Financ Rev 2007 Spring; 28(3):95-107. [Supported by grant 1 R03 HS11515-01; uses CAHPS® to check external validity of the study instrument.]

Health Services and Outcomes Research Methodology
Li Y, Dick AW, Glance LG, et al. Misspecification issues in risk adjustment and construction of outcome-based quality indicators. Health Serv Outcomes Res Method 2007 Jun; 7(1-2):39-56. [Supported by grant R01 HS13617.]

Fan MY, Zhou XH. A simulation study to compare methods for constructing confidence intervals for the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio. Health Serv Outcomes Res Method 2007 Jun; 7(1-2):57-77. [Supported by grant R01 HS0135-01.]

Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Raebel MA, Carroll NM, Kelleher JA, et al. Randomized trial to improve prescribing safety during pregnancy. J Am Med Infom Assoc 2007 Jul-Aug; 14(4):440-50. [Supported by grant 1 UC1 HS014249.]

Journal of Clinical Oncology
Bickell NA, LePar F, Wang JJ, et al. Lost opportunities: physicians' reasons and disparities in breast cancer treatment. J Clin Oncol 2007 Jun 20; 25(18):2516-21. [Supported by grant P01 HS10859-02.]

Journal of Hospital Medicine
Cohn SL, Auerbach AD. Preoperative cardiac risk stratification 2007: evolving evidence, evolving strategies. J Hosp Med 2007 May; 2(3):174-80. [Supported by grant K08 HS11416-02.]

Journal of Nutrition
Raman G, Tatsioni A, Chung M, et al. Heterogeneity and lack of good quality studies limit association between folate, vitamins B-6 and B-12, and cognitive function. J Nutr 2007 Jul; 137(7):1789-94. [Supported by contract 290-02-0023.]

Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences
Feinglass J, Lin S, Thompson J, et al. Baseline health, socioeconomic status, and 10-year mortality among older middle-aged Americans: findings from the Health and Retirement Study, 1992-2002. J Gerontol B Psych Sci Soc Sci 2007 Jul; 62(4):S209-17. [Supported by grant R01 HS10283.]

Mukamel DB, Spector WD, Zinn JS, et al. Nursing homes' response to the Nursing Home Compare report card. J Gerontol B Psych Sci Soc Sci 2007 Jul; 62(4):S218-25. [Second author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Delivery, Organization, and Markets.]

Lancet
Spinewine A, Schmader KE, Barber N, et al. Appropriate prescribing in elderly people: how well can it be measured and optimised? Lancet 2007 Jul 14; 370(9588):173-84. [Fifth author Lapine KL was supported by grant U18 HS016394.]

Medical Care
Zhan C, Elixhauser A, Friedman B, Houchens R, Chiang YP. Modifying DRG-PPS to include only diagnoses present on admission: financial implications and challenges. Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):288-91. [First three and fifth authors are AHRQ researchers; uses 2003 data from AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases (SID) for New York and California.]

Schmittdiel J, Vijan S, Fireman F, et al. Predicted quality-adjusted life years as a composite measure of the clinical value of diabetes risk factor control. Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):315-21. [Supported by contract 290-00-0015, task order 12.]

Medical Decision Making
Katz DA, Dawson J, Beshansky JR, et al. Does concordance with guideline triage recommendations affect clinical care of patients with possible acute coronary syndrome? Med Decis Making 2007 Jul-Aug; 27(4):323-437. [Supported by grants R01 HS10466, R01 HS07360, and R01 HS09110; evaluates AHRQ guideline, Unstable Angina: Diagnosis and Management, 1994; cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Prediction of Risk for Patients with Unstable Angina, 2000.]

Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal
Pelton SI, Huot H, Finkelstein JA, et al. Emergence of 19A as virulent and multidrug resistant pneumococcus in Massachusetts following universal immunization of infants with pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Pediatr Infect Dis J 2007 Jun; 26(6):468-72. [Supported by grant R01 HS10247.]

AHRQ-Related Articles

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Green LW. Translation 2 research: the roadmap less traveled. Am J Prev Med 2007 Aug; 33(2):137-8. [Notes that article by Mercer, et al. (Am J Prev Med, 2007), cited in AHRQ-Funded/Authored Articles, originated from a symposium co-sponsored by AHRQ and participated in by AHRQ researchers Denise Dougherty and David Atkins; cites AHRQ's Practice-Based Research Networks on AHRQ Web site as a source of further information on AHRQ's efforts related to the symposium's issues.]

American Journal of Medical Quality
Aboumatar HJ, Blackledge CG, Dickson C, et al. A descriptive study of morbidity and mortality conferences and their conformity to medical incident analysis models: results of the Morbidity and Mortality Conference Improvement Study, Phase I. Am J Med Qual 2007 Jul-Aug; 22(4):232-8. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Pronovost, et al (Ann Intern Med, 2004 and Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf, 2006).]

Cummings J, Krsek C, Vermoch K, et al. Intensive care unit telemedicine: review and consensus recommendations. Am J Med Qual 2007 Jul-Aug; 22(4):239-50. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Cullen, et al. (Crit Care Med, 1997).]

Moskowitz EJ, Nash DB. The quality and safety of ambulatory medical care: current and future prospects. Am J Med Qual 2007 Jul-Aug; 22(4):274-88. [Cites AHRQ-funded articles by Miller, et al. (Ambul Pediatr, 2004), Poon, et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2004), and Weingart, et al. (Jt Comm J Qual Saf, 2007), and AHRQ-authored article by Zhan, Arispe, and Kelley (Jt Comm J Qual Saf, 2005).]

Medical Care
Iezzoni LI. Finally present on admission but needs attention. Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):280-2. [Cites AHRQ publication, The Case for the Present-on-Admission (POA) Indicator, HCUP Methods Series Report, 2006; cites AHRQ-authored articles by Zhan, et al. (Med Care, 2007) and Hsia, et al. (N Engl J Med, 1988).]

Medical Decision Making
Mansley EC, Elbasha EH, Teutsch SM, et al. The decision to conduct a head-to-head comparative trial: a game-theoretic analysis. Med Decis Making 2007 Jul-Aug; 27(4):364-79. [Cites AHRQ-authored article by Tunis, Stryer (former AHRQ Center director), and Clancy (AHRQ director) (JAMA, 2003).]

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF)/Put Prevention Into Practice (PPIP)-Related Articles

American Journal of Managed Care
Schroy PC 3rd, Lai S, Glick JT, et al. Patient preferences for colorectal cancer screening: how does stool DNA testing fare? Am J Manag Care 2007 Jul; 13(6):393-400. [Cites USPSTF-sponsored evidence review of and recommendations on screening for colorectal cancer (Ann Intern Med, 2002).]

American Journal of Preventive Medicine
Sanson-Fisher RW, Bonevski B, Green LW, et al. Limitations of the randomized controlled trial in evaluating population-based health interventions. Am J Prev Med 2007 Aug; 33(2):155-61. [Notes USPSTF's adoption of the levels of evidence hierarchy proposed by the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination and discusses the USPSTF recommendations on mammography screening; acknowledges third author's service as a consultant for AHRQ units and contractors.]

Medical Care
McAlpine DD, Wilson AR. Trends in obesity-related counseling in primary care; 1995-2004. Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):322-29. [Cites USPSTF recommendations on screening for obesity (Ann Intern Med, 2003).]

Reproductive Health Matters
Gammeltoft T, Nguyen HT. The commodification of obstetric ultrasound scanning in Hanoi, Viet Nam. Reprod Health Matters 2007 May; 15(29):163-71. [Cites USPSTF recommendation statement Ultrasonography in Pregnancy, 1996, on AHRQ Web site.]

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

Lancet
Cooper H, Lucas SB. The value of autopsy, believe it or not. Lancet 2007 Jul 7; 370(9581):27. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment Autopsy as an Outcome and Performance Measure, 2002.]

Medical Care
McDonald KM, Davies SM, Geppert J, et al. Why rescue the administrative data version of the failure to rescue quality indicator? Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):277-9. [Analyzes the AHRQ failure to rescue algorithm as presented in AHRQ technical review Measures of Patient Safety Based on Hospital Administrative Data, 2002, and AHRQ-funded articles by Silber, et al. (Med Care, 1992 and JAMA, 1995) and Needleman, et al. (N Eng J Med, 2002); cites AHRQ publications, Presentations at the AHRQ Quality Indicators User Meeting, 2005, and The Case for the Present-on-Admission (POA) Indicator, 2006.]

Research By Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology
Nguyen GC, Segev DL, Thulovath PJ. Nationwide increase in hospitalizations and hepatitis C among inpatients with cirrhosis and sequelae of portal hypertension. Clin Gastroelterol Hepatol 2007 Jul 9; [Epub ahead of print. Uses AHRQ's Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) for 1998-2003.]

Journal of the American Medical Directors Association
van der Steen JT, Mehr DR, Kruse RL, et al. Dementia, lower respiratory tract infection, and long-term mortality. J Am Med Dior Assoc 2007 Jul; 8(6):396-403. [Uses data from previous AHRQ-funded study supported by grant HS08551.]

Journal of Sex Research
Galvan FH, Collins RL, Kanouse DE, et al. Religiosity, denominational affiliation and sexual behaviors among people with HIV in the United States. J Sex Res 2007 Feb; 44(1):49-58. [Uses study sample from the AHRQ-funded HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (HCSUS), previously supported by grant U01 HS08578.]

Medical Care
Horwitz LI, Cuny JF, Cerese J, et al. Failure to rescue: validation of an algorithm using administrative data. Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):283-7. [Uses as the study's validation focus the AHRQ failure to rescue algorithm as presented in AHRQ technical review Measures of Patient Safety Based on Hospital Administrative Data, 2002, and AHRQ-funded articles by Silber, et al. (Med Care, 1992 and JAMA, 1995) and Needleman, et al. (N Eng J Med, 2002); cites AHRQ publications, Patient Safety Indicators Overview, 2006, Patient Safety Indicators Version 3.0, 2006, and Version 2.1, 2005, and The Case for the Present-on-Admission (POA) Indicator, 2006.]

Bellows NM, McMenamin SB, Halpin HA. Adoption of system strategies for tobacco cessation by state Medicaid programs. Med Care 2007 Apr; 45(4):350-6. [Uses adoption of four of the six system strategies recommended in PHS guideline, Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence, 2000, as the study intervention.]

Psychiatric Services
Rost K, Adams S, Xu S, et al. Rural-urban differences in hospitalization rates of primary care patients with depression. Psychiatr Serv 2007 Apr; 58(4):503-8. [Uses data from AHRQ-funded Patients in Care study supported by grant R01 HS08349.]

Current as of August 2007

Internet Citation:

Articles of Interest, August 3, 2007. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/articles/art080307.htm