Research Activities

June 1998, No. 216

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

New model projects 11 percent fewer deaths in 20 years if U.S. smokers stopped smoking

Departments

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research
   Outcomes are improving for older patients who undergo carotid endarterectomy
   Maternal leptin concentration during pregnancy is not an accurate predictor of infant birthweight

Clinical Decisionmaking
   Specific factors identify asthmatics most at risk for relapse after ER treatment
   Current strategy for routine thyroid function tests should be reconsidered
   Computer system may someday provide quick trauma advice to emergency medicine physicians
   Videos of prostate cancer treatment alternatives benefit both physicians and patients

Health Care Delivery
   Physicians can identify women with bothersome incontinence by asking them a few simple questions
   Social conversation during physician visits has a positive effect on patient satisfaction
   Computer reminders can increase physician-patient discussions about advance directives

Managed Care
   Researchers examine impact of managed care on physician behavior, quality of care, and coverage of medical technology

Quality of Care
   Hospital report cards can help improve their quality of care
   Physicians have an important role in improving health care quality

Special Populations
   Risk of poor birth outcomes is reduced for low-income pregnant women who receive adequate support services
   Fears and cultural beliefs hinder treatment of Latinos with adult-onset diabetes

Announcements
   AHCPR awards $7.6 million in grants designed to improve health care quality
   AHCPR offers a new information service
   Final reports now available from NTIS

Research Briefs
   The prospective effect of access to medical care on health-related quality-of-life outcomes in patients with symptomatic HIV disease
   Incidence, acute care length of stay, and discharge to rehabilitation of traumatic amputees
   The relationship between muscle abnormalities and symptom duration in lumbosacral radiculopathies
   Reliability and validity of physical and mental health summary scores from the medical outcomes study HIV health survey

AHCPR Publication No. 98-0034
Current as of June 1998

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities newsletter. June 1998, No. 216. AHCPR Publication No. 98-0034. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/jun98/

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