Research Activities

December 2000, No. 244

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Releasing medical study findings early has a downside

Access to Care

Racial/ethnic disparities in health care access and use are not explained by health insurance and income
Insurance status influences access to antihypertensive drug therapy, while personal factors influence patterns of use
Enhanced access to care for rural and disadvantaged patients may be a by-product of the high cost of a medical education
Decentralization of California's mental health system enhanced access to care for the most severely ill patients

Health Care Costs and Financing

Effects of Medicare fee reductions vary by specialty and procedure
Rankings of health plans by sicker and healthier patients may differ substantially

Health Care Delivery

Most primary care patients with depression prefer counseling over medication
Medical practices can benefit from specific policies for interacting with pharmaceutical representatives

Medical Effectiveness/Outcomes Research

Transurethral resection of the prostate for benign prostatic hyperplasia declined dramatically but remains safe

Women's Health

Pregnant women are as likely to deny tobacco use as they are to deny illegal drug use
Second-trimester chlamydia infection is associated with an increased risk of subsequent preterm birth
Mothers of low-birthweight babies perceive poorer infant health and greater caregiver burden than mothers of normal weight babies

Long-term Care

New checklist enables nursing assistants to effectively monitor the health of nursing home residents

Health Care Quality

Recommendations from family and friends carry the most weight in choosing a physician, hospital, or health plan
AHRQ's Building Bridges Conferences show that health services research can drive improvements in quality of care
Researchers are developing and testing an instrument to examine quality of care for Chinese and Vietnamese Americans

Agency News and Notes

AHRQ releases three new evidence reports
AHRQ issues the stroke PORT phase-one final report with new CD-ROM

Announcements

AHRQ names Senior Scholar-in-Residence on Domestic Violence
Journal article describes AHRQ's children's health research program
Recruiting is under way for several senior positions at AHRQ
AHRQ awards new research projects to help victims of domestic violence
AHRQ awards 15 new research projects on key topics
$3.4 million earmarked for research projects on improving health care quality

Research Briefs

Current as of December 2000
AHRQ Publication No. 01-0013

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities newsletter. December 2000, No. 244. AHRQ Publication 01-0013. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/dec00/

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