Research Activities

December 2001, No. 256

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Potentially inappropriate medications are prescribed for up to one in five elderly people

Clinical Decisionmaking

Researchers from the Pneumonia PORT examine triage and management of community-acquired pneumonia
Plain x-rays often do not reveal certain types of cervical spine injuries in victims of blunt trauma
Few doctors take measures to prevent bone loss and related fractures among people on long-term steroid therapy

Children's Health

Availability of a pneumococcal vaccine may change the way physicians manage young children who have high fevers
More conservative approach recommended for inpatient treatment of infants with viral lower respiratory infection
Use of health care services and costs of care are substantial for children with asthma-related illnesses
Children with insulin-dependent diabetes are hospitalized three times more often than other children
Five criteria can identify pediatric blunt trauma victims who are unlikely to need x-rays to exclude cervical spine injury
Educational materials do not substantially increase parents' knowledge and attitudes about the use of antibiotics
Violence affects many teenage girls in the United States, most of whom are attacked at home or in the home of a friend
Office-based quality improvement programs can substantially improve delivery of pediatric preventive services
Generalists provide the majority of care to Medicaid-insured children with chronic conditions

Women's Health

Elderly women with the fewest resources to negotiate the health care system have the highest burden of illness
Women are far more likely than men to have their depression diagnosed by their primary care doctors

Primary Care

Primary care doctors should be alert to potential chronic kidney disease in diabetic, hypertensive, and minority patients
Middle-aged adults tend to maintain their alcohol consumption patterns over time
Even patients with a doctor in the family face challenges in receiving optimal medical care
Journal issue focuses on competing demands, patient encounters, and delivery of preventive care in family practice

Mental Health

Missed diagnosis of mood and anxiety disorders is more likely among black than white schizophrenics
Managed care cost-containment policies strengthen continuity of primary care for depressed patients
Researchers weigh benefits and costs of QI programs to enhance treatment of depression in primary care

Long-term Care

New studies focus on lower respiratory infection in nursing home residents
New regulations and industry volatility a decade ago led to high job turnover among nursing home administrators

HIV/AIDS Research

Increasing public assistance for HIV-infected patients could lower hospital costs and increase work productivity
Case management appears to be associated with fewer unmet needs among people with HIV infection

Health Care Costs and Financing

Medicare fee-for-service patients seem to fare better in areas of higher HMO market penetration
Late middle-aged adults are more likely to decline in overall health when they have no health insurance

Evidence-based Medicine

Cognitive behavioral therapy and graded exercise therapy show promise for managing chronic fatigue syndrome

Public Health

Three out of ten people misidentify themselves as overweight, underweight, or normal weight
Placing automated external defibrillators on most U.S. commercial airplanes would be as cost effective as car air bags

Agency News and Notes

New resource helps clinicians "Put Prevention Into Practice"

Announcements

AHRQ to cosponsor the fourth child health services researchers meeting in June 2002
Plan now to attend the first national conference on medical care for victims of domestic violence
Next set of MEPS workshops scheduled for spring 2002

Research Briefs

Current as of December 2001
AHRQ Publication No. 02-0010

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities newsletter. December 2001, No. 256. AHRQ Publication 02-0010. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/dec01/

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