Research Activities

February 2003, No. 270

---

Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Carolyn M. Clancy named permanent director of AHRQ

Preventive Services

Task force issues recommendations on cervical cancer screening and screening for diabetes in adults and pregnant women

Women's Health/Children's Health

One-fifth of older women hospitalized for hip fracture become incontinent while in the hospital
New team approach dramatically boosts chlamydia screening of teenage girls
Prolonged bottle feeding of young children may lead to childhood obesity and iron deficiency anemia
New report provides an overview of children's insurance coverage, health care use and expenditures, and quality of care
More than half of all Medicaid-insured children with chronic conditions receive generalist-only care

Clinical Decisionmaking

Patients with aortic dissection who have syncope are at high risk for life-threatening complications
Early nephrologist referral of ICU patients with acute renal failure is associated with a reduced risk of death
Researchers explore the most effective management of patients with chronic hepatitis C

Primary Care

Almost one-third of depressed primary care patients reported either hazardous drinking, use of illicit drugs, or misuse of prescription drugs
Family physicians vary in the types of referrals they make for patients with several common conditions
Higher primary care density is associated with fewer preventable hospital admissions

Pharmaceutical Research

Epoetin treatment reduces anemia and related transfusions for certain cancer patients
Pediatricians may feel pressured to prescribe antibiotics when parents imply a diagnosis that warrants them
Centers for Education and Research on Therapeutics help promote use of life-saving therapies and avoidance of high-risk therapies

Quality/Access to Care

Studies focus on the quality of hospital emergency care
Researchers examine access to care and quality for Medicaid MCO enrollees who have disabilities

Disparities/Minority Health

Managed care appears to reduce disparities in the use of preventive care for some racial/ethnic groups
Reducing racial and ethnic disparities in care continues to be an AHRQ research priority

Dental Research

Factors beyond private dental insurance coverage influence a person's use of dental care

Agency News and Notes

AHRQ launches new Web-based medical journal with patient safety lessons drawn from actual cases

Announcements

AHRQ and AcademyHealth to sponsor workshops for researchers on new privacy rules
Grant final reports now available from NTIS

Research Briefs

Current as of February 2003
AHRQ Publication No. 03-0017

---

Internet Citation:

Research Activities newsletter. February 2003, No. 270. AHRQ Publication No. 03-0017. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/feb03/

---