Research Activities

October 2006, No. 314

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Organizational silence threatens patient safety

Patient Safety and Quality

Perceptions of teamwork in hospital labor and delivery units depend on caregiver role and the unit environment
Learning collaboratives are a potentially effective way to improve the quality of care delivered by pediatric practices

Child/Adolescent Health

Use of pediatric hospitalists decreases hospital costs and stays without adversely affecting clinicians or parents
Rural children with special health care needs are more likely than their urban counterparts to lack needed dental care
Maternal psychological distress and infrequent use of seat belts are associated with children's low use of motor vehicle restraints

Women's Health

Teriparatide alone is less cost-effective than alendronate alone for the treatment of women with severe osteoporosis

Elderly/Long-term Care

Elderly patients whose physicians are white or have urban practices are more likely to use antidepressants
Severity of illness and rural location affect the willingness of elderly people to travel longer distances to the hospital
Prescription drug benefits limits for Medicare beneficiaries are associated with less use of prescription drugs, worse clinical outcomes, and higher hospitalization costs
Greater competition among health plans is linked to more advertising that targets healthier patients

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research

Studies examine the effectiveness, safety, and feasibility of out-of-hospital endotracheal intubation
Talc should be the agent of choice when treating fluid buildup around the lungs from advanced cancer

Acute Care/Hospitalization

Patients with more chronic conditions increase hospital costs
Study details the prevalence of and deaths from the most common pulmonary fungal infections in immunocompetent people

HIV/AIDS Research

Less than half of parents infected with HIV tell their children about the diagnosis

Health Care Costs and Financing

Medical malpractice laws capping damage payments appear to lower State health care expenditures by 3 to 4 percent
Over half of compensation for medical malpractice claims goes toward administrative expenses

Agency News and Notes

U.S. hospital bill is approaching $800 billion
Over half of Hispanics who are not U.S. citizens are uninsured

Announcements

Heart attack risks and pain relief are similar for most osteoarthritis drugs
New evidence report finds most genomic tests to identify or treat ovarian cancer have not shown clinical value
Research Briefs

AHRQ Publication No. 06-0071
Current as of October 2006

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. October 2006, No. 314. AHRQ Publication No. 06-0071. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/oct06/

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