Research Activities

November 2007, No. 327

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

AHRQ expands therapeutics education and research centers and adds new topics: Health IT, economics, and formularies

Women's Health

Study documents the health costs of being a woman
Death and complications after breast cancer surgery are rare, with wound infection the most common problem
Women suffer fewer postoperative problems after vascular surgery at Veterans Administration than at private hospitals

Child/Adolescent Health

Local touchscreen computer kiosks can help parents in urban, low-income communities learn about their child's health
Premature infants with chronic lung disease can be safely cared for by community-based providers coordinating with a nurse specialist
Caregivers of children with special health care needs rate Medicaid managed care as having better care access than fee-for-service
A skin condition may identify young patients at risk for developing type 2 diabetes

Elderly/Long-term Care

Nursing home report cards have prompted many nursing homes to improve care, especially those with poor scores
Postdischarge care management that integrates medical and social care can improve outcomes of the low-income elderly

Health Information Technology

Studies explore the use and functions of electronic health records
Implementing a basic electronic prescribing system may reduce nonclinical prescribing errors
Electronic data collection can greatly improve recruitment of primary care patients into clinical trials

Patient Safety and Quality

Studies examine patients' ratings of physicians
Diagnostic codes poorly identify deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism after surgery from hospital claims

Cancer/Chronic Disease

Cancer and other chronic conditions affect patients' lives differently during various phases of care
Black and white caregivers of rural patients with dementia have different characteristics and coping styles
Men with localized prostate cancer who undergo surgery may live longer than those who undergo radiation or observation
Low income middle-aged Americans have higher 10-year death rates even after controlling for their worse health at baseline

HIV/AIDS Research

Several factors prompt patients with HIV to voluntarily switch physicians
Late diagnosis of HIV is a problem for older patients, many of whom aren't diagnosed until they've already developed AIDS

End-of-Life Care

End-of-life care expenditures and use among Medicare colorectal cancer patients differ more by age than gender
Palliative care study challenges assumptions about physician emotional involvement and communication with patients

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research

Complications following heart valve replacements are prevalent and worsen patient outcomes
Evidence of benefit is lacking for many common ways of treating osteoarthritis of the knee
Diagnosing coronary heart disease prior to a heart attack improves the chance of lowering the risk of future coronary events
Surgery is more likely than angioplasty to relieve pain for patients with coronary artery disease

Pharmaceutical Research

Study confirms link between intravenous bisphosphonates and jaw infection or surgery
Insurers save with incentive-based formularies, but consumers pay more out of pocket

Emergency Medicine

Studies examine prescribing of antibiotics for respiratory infections in hospital emergency departments
Adults who arrive at the emergency department with acute cough and vital sign abnormalities may have pneumonia

Access to Care

Mexicans' access to primary care is limited overall, but worse in nonmetropolitan areas
California Medicaid managed care plans would like to increase chronic disease care management programs
Patients who were uninsured use more medical services once they enroll in Medicare
Fewer dentists and different care preferences may contribute to lower use of dental care in rural Kansas

Agency News and Notes

AHRQ launches a new series of advice columns

Announcements

AHRQ awards four contracts to help improve hospital quality measurement
AHRQ announces the next phase of its Evidence-based Practice Center program

Research Briefs

AHRQ Publication No. 08-0001
Current as of November 2007

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. November 2007, No. 327. AHRQ Publication No. 08-0001. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/nov07/

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