Research Activities

February 2008, No. 330

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Physicians want to learn from medical mistakes but say current error-reporting systems are inadequate

Patient Safety and Quality

Pediatric outpatient medication errors are common and are often due to mistakes made at home
Age, gender, and location are keys to predicting patient fall injuries in hospitals

Disparities/Minority Health

Blacks, Hispanics, and other minority groups are less likely to get strong pain medications in hospital emergency departments

Child/Adolescent Health

Children with special health care needs seem to benefit from Medicaid managed care programs with case managers
Study of young Head Start children links overweight to worsened asthma

Health Care Workforce

Competing priorities, burnout, and collegial support all play a role in nursing career decisions
Studies examine the impact of nurse staffing on complications, mortality, and length of hospital stay
Staffing levels and turnover are influenced by nursing home expenditure patterns

Women's Health

Nurse midwives deliver more babies in hospitals than homes in Washington State
A combination of maternal, baby, and episiotomy factors contribute to high rates of maternal birth trauma in Iowa

Elderly/Long-term Care

Medicare drug plans cover a good selection of drugs for nursing home residents, but plan vigilance should continue
Financial incentives to physicians and long-term care facilities may foster adoption of computerized drug systems

Pharmaceutical Research

Doctors should remind patients about warfarin compliance, even those who claim to be taking the drug as directed
Three-tier formularies increase cost sharing for retirees in generous plans, with little effect on continued drug use

Emergency Medicine

Observational videos can identify ways to improve emergency endotracheal intubation

Health Care Costs and Financing

Hospitals serving the uninsured and underserved need help with public reporting and pay-for-performance measures
Managed care helps the elderly avoid preventable hospitalizations more than traditional Medicare

Agency News and Notes

U.S. hospital bill is fast approaching $1 trillion
2006 HCUP Data Released
Half of Americans age 50 and older have never had a colonoscopy
Pulmonary heart disease hospitalizations increase by more than half between 1997 and 2005
Shingles sends nearly 1 million Americans to the doctor

Announcements

Many osteoporosis medications prevent fractures, but none is proven best

Research Briefs

Research Briefs
Visit the AHRQ Patient Safety Network Web Site

AHRQ Publication No. 08-0027
Current as of February 2008

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. February 2008, No. 330. AHRQ Publication No. 08-0027. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/feb08/

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