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Articles of Interest

August 15, 2008

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

American Journal of Clinical Pathology
Meier FA, Zarbo RJ, Varney RC, et al. Development and validation of a taxonomy of defects. Am J Clin Pathol 2008 Aug; 130(2):238-46. [Supported by grant HS13321-01.] Select to access the abstract.

American Journal of Surgery
Gray SH, Vick CC, Graham LA, et al. Variation in mesh placement for ventral hernia repair: an opportunity for process improvement? Am J Surg 2008 Aug; 196(2):201-6. [Supported by grant 5 T32 HS13852.] Select to access the abstract.

Annals of Surgery
Khuri SF, Henderson WG, Daley J, et al. Successful implementation of the Department of Veterans Affairs' National Surgical Quality Improvement program in the private sector: the Patient Safety in Surgery Study. Ann Surg 2008 Aug; 248(2):329-36. [Supported by grant 5 U18 HS11913.] Select to access the abstract.

Archives of General Psychiatry
Mojtabai R, Olfson M. National trends in psychotherapy by office-based psychiatrist. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2008 Aug; 65(8):962-70. [Supported by grant U18 HS16097.] Select to access the abstract.

Archives of Internal Medicine
Anstrom KJ, Kong DF, Shaw LK, et al. Long-term clinical outcomes following coronary stenting. Arch Intern Med 2008 Aug; 168(15):1647-55. [Supported by contract 290-05-0032; based on AHRQ DEcIDE report Treatment of In-stent Restenosis (under review); acknowledges support by AHRQ researcher Elise Berliner.] Select to access the abstract.

Genetics in Medicine
Kemper AR, Boyle CA, Aceves J, Dougherty D, et al. Long-term follow-up after diagnosis resulting from newborn screening: statement of the US Secretary of Health and Human Services' Advisory Committee on Heritable Disorders and Genetic Diseases in Newborns and Children. Genet Med 2008 Apr; 10(4):259-61. [Fourth author is researcher in AHRQ's Office of Extramural Research, Education, and Priority Populations.] Select to access the abstract.

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Kennedy AG, Littenberg B, Senders JW. Using nurses and office staff to report prescribing errors in primary care. Int J Qual Health Care 2008 Aug; 20(4): 238-45. [Supported by grant 1K08 HS13891.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Adolescent Health
Buckelew SM, Adams SH, Irwin CE, et al. Increasing clinician self-efficacy for screening and counseling adolescents for risky health behaviors: results of an intervention. J Adolesc Health 2008 Aug; 43(2):198-200. [Supported by grant U18 HS11095.] Select to access the abstract.

Pediatrics
Landrigan CP, Fahrenkopf AM, Lewin D, et al. Effects of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education duty hour limits on sleep, work hours, and safety. Pediatrics 2008; 122(2):250-8. [Supported by grant K08 HS13333.] Select to access the abstract.

Jones R, Flaherty EG, Binns HJ. Clinicians' description of factors influencing their reporting of suspected child abuse: report of the Child Abuse Reporting Experience Study research group. Pediatrics 2008; 122(2):259-66. [Supported by grant R01 HS10746.] Select to access the abstract.

McDonald KM, Davies SM, Haberland CA, et al. Preliminary assessment of pediatric health care quality and patient safety in the United States using readily available administrative data. Pediatrics 2008; 122(2):e416-25. [Supported by contract 290-04-0020.] Select to access the abstract.

Quality & Safety in Health Care
Kuo GM, Phillips RL, Graham D, et al. Medication errors reported by US family physicians and their office staff. Qual Saf Health Care 2008 Aug; 17(4):286-90. [Supported by grant P20 HS11584.] Select to access the abstract.

Spine
Gray DT, Hollingworth W, Onwudiwe N, et al. Costs and state-specific rates of thoracic and lumber vertebroplasty, 2001-2005. Spine 2008; 33(17):1905-12. [First author is researcher in AHRQ's Center for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety, and the third author was a 2007 summer intern in the same center. Also go to article by Ranji et al. (Med Care, 2008) cited in Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles.]

AHRQ-Related Articles

International Journal for Quality in Health Care
Schubert M, Glass TR, Clarke SP, et al. Rationing of nursing care and its relationship to patient outcomes: the Swiss extension of the International Hospital Outcomes Study. Intern J Qual Health Care 2008 Aug; 20(4):227-37. [Cites AHRQ funded article by Needleman et al. (New Eng J Med, 2002).] Select to access the abstract.

Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient safety
Lipshutz AK, Fee C, Schell H, et al. Strategies for success: a PDSA analysis of three QI initiatives in critical care. Jt Comm J Qual Pat Saf 2008 Aug; 34(8): 435-44. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Pronovost, Miller, and Wachter (JAMA, 2006).]

Medical Care
Mandelblatt JS, Potosky AL. On the road to improving the quality of breast cancer care. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):759-61. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Mandelblatt et al. (Oncology, 1996 and J Clin Oncol, 1999).]

Shwartz M, Ren J, Pekoz EA. Estimating a composite measure of hospital quality from the Hospital Compare database: differences when using a Bayesian hierarchical latent variable model versus denominator-based weights. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):778-85. [Mentions consideration of AHRQ's methodology for deriving a composite measure from the Patient Safety Indicators (PSIs), citing AHRQ publication Patient Safety Indicator Composite Measure Final Technical Report, 2006.] Select to access the abstract.

Becker ER, Roblin DW. Translating primary care practice climate into patient activation. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):795-803. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Fiscella et al. (Med Care, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Weeks WB, West AN, Wallace AW, et al. Comparing the characteristics, utilization, efficiency, and outcomes of VA and non-VA inpatient care provided to VA enrollees. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):863-71. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Deyo et al. (J Clin Epidemiol, 1992); cites AHRQ publication Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation, 2005; and the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS) Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Keating NL, Zaslavsky AM, Goldstein J, et al. Randomized trial of $20 versus $ 50 incentives to increase physician survey response rates. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):787-881. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Cummings et al. (Health Serv Res, 2001).] Select to access the abstract.

Obstetrics & Gynecology
Vallerie AM, Herzog TJ, Wright JD. Postpartum sterilization: small incision, big complication. Obstet Gynecol 2008 Aug; 112(2 part 1):353-7. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Gawande et al. (N Eng J Med, 2003).] Select to access the abstract.

Women & Health
Froehlich-Grobe K, Figoni SF, Thompson, et al. Exploring the health of women with mobility impairments. Women Health 2008; 48(1):21-41. [Cites Chevarley et al. (Womens Health Issues, 2006).]

Wisdom JP, Michael YL, Ramsey K, et al. Women's health policies associated with obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and smoking:a follow-up on the women's health report card. Women Health 2008; 48(1):103-22. [Cites AHRQ-funded article by Soumerai et al. (Arch Intern Med, 2004).]

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

American Journal of Epidemiology
Nagel CL, Carlson NE, Bosworth M, et al. The relation between neighborhood built environment and walking activity among older adults. [Am J Epidemiol 2008 Aug 15; 168(4):461-8. [Cites AHRQ publication Physical Activity and Older Americans: Benefits and Strategies, 2002. as published on the AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Evidence-based Practice Centers-Related Articles

Medical Care
Hassett MJ, Hughes ME, Niland JC, et al. Selecting high priority quality measures for breast cancer quality improvement. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):762-70. [Cites AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Quality of Care for Oncologic Conditions: A Review of the Literature and Quality Indicators, 2000.] Select to access the abstract.

Chermack ST, Zivin K, Valenstein M, et al. The prevalence and predictors of mental health treatment services in a national sample of depressed veterans. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):813-20. [Cites AHRQ guideline, Depression in Primary Care, 1993, and AHRQ Evidence Report/Technology Assessment, Treatment of Depression: New Pharmacotherapies, 1999; cites AHRQ-funded article by Sherbourne et al. (Med Care, 2004).] Select to access the abstract.

Ranji SR, Steinman MA, Shojania KG. Interventions to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescribing: a systemic review and quantitative analysis. Med Care 2008 Aug; 46(8):847-62. [Based on work performed by Sanford-UCSF Evidence-based Practice Center under contract 290-02-0017; cites AHRQ publications Closing the Quality Gap: A Critical Analysis of Quality Improvement Strategies, Vol. 1, Overview and Methodology, and Vol. 2, Diabetes Mellitus Care, 2004.] Select to access the abstract.

Research By Others Using AHRQ Data or Products

Health Services Research
West AN, Weeks WB, Bagian JP. Rare adverse medical events in VA inpatient care: reliability limits to using Patient Safety Indicators as performance measures. Health Serv Res 2008 Feb; 43(1 Pt 1):249-66. [Uses and assess AHRQ's Patient Safety Indicators as performance measures using Veterans Administration hospitalizaton data; cites AHRQ Quality Indicators-Guide to Patient Safety Indicators. Version 2.1, Revision 2, 2004, and AHRQ Quality Indicators-Patient Safety Indicators: Software Documentation. Version 2.1-SAS, Revision 3a, 2003; cites AHRQ publication, Advances in Patient Safety: From Research to Implementation, 2005.] Select to access the abstract.

Journal of Vascular Surgery
Timaran CH, Rosero EB, Smith ST, et al. Trends and outcomes of concurrent carotid revascularization and coronary bypass. J Vasc Surg 2008 Aug; 48(2):355-60. [Uses 2000-2004 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) data to "identify patients discharged after concurrent carotid and coronary revascularization procedures"; uses and cites HCUP Clinical Classification Software; cites overview article on HCUP NIS as published on AHRQ Web site and HCUP publication, Quality Control Procedures as published on AHRQ Web site.] Select to access the abstract.

Current as of August 2008

Internet Citation:

Articles of Interest, August 15, 2008. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/articles/art081508.htm