Research Activities

September 2008, No. 337

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Surgical errors cost nearly $1.5 billion annually

Patient Safety and Quality

Registered nurses are key to detecting, correcting, and preventing medical errors during critical care
Use of voluntary reporting along with other strategies best identifies adverse drug events affecting children

Women's Health

Pregnant Latinas who experience intimate partner violence are more likely to be depressed or have PTSD
Women sexually abused by partners have worse health than never abused women, even years after the abuse has stopped
Intimate partner violence affects the abused women as well as the care use and costs of their children
Black women's choice of hospital to give birth contributes to racial disparities in neonatal deaths
Women's perception of risk affects screening for colon cancer, but not cervical or breast cancer
Women who receive food stamps are more likely to be overweight and obese and to spend more on health care

Child/Adolescent Health

Overweight adolescents with type 2 diabetes underestimate their weight problem, as do their parents
Black girls look at being overweight with different eyes
Task Force recommends screening for hearing loss in all newborns
Most children who enroll in SCHIP still have some type of health insurance a year later

Elderly/Long-term Care

Fewer elderly persons are developing heart failure and those who do are surviving longer
Incident reporting system helps gather information that can reduce falls by nursing home residents
Improving health literacy in elderly patients may enhance health status and reduce use of health care services
Racial disparities in care for the elderly persisted and even worsened for some procedures in the late 1990s

Health Information Technology

Small hospitals owned by multihospital systems have higher levels of electronic medical record adoption

Pharmaceutical Research

Patients' distrust of the drug industry's influence on doctors and other beliefs may affect drug adherence
Direct-to-patient mailings increase adherence to beta-blocker therapy after heart attack
Although most children and adolescents have been vaccinated against hepatitis B virus, adults lag behind
Growth hormone builds muscle in athletes, but may not help sports performance

Preventive Care

AHRQ and AARP team to help adults over 50 stay healthy
Men with certain risk factors for osteoporosis should be screened for the condition
Use of prevention drugs after heart attacks declines steadily after hospital discharge
Hypertension in the emergency department may signal undiagnosed hypertension, not just pain or anxiety

Mental Health

Youth at highest risk of attempting suicide are severely depressed and suffered a recent romantic breakup or assault
Emergency department clinicians rarely address depression
Ten-day lapse in antipsychotic drug use is associated with an increased risk of hospitalization in patients with schizophrenia

Home Health Care

Report offers resources for home health care response during a flu pandemic
The Balanced Budget Act of 1997 reduced the number of home health aides

Dental Health

Having medical, not dental insurance, leads to dental appointments
Untreated tooth decay remains a substantial problem for children with public insurance coverage

Access to Care

Native Americans, nonurban residents, and people living in the South travel further for specialized cancer care
Gaps in children's health insurance are linked to unmet health care needs

Acute Care/Hospitalization

Estrogen levels predict life or death in critically ill patients
Reducing community contacts by half within 7 days may allow for local control of a flu pandemic

HIV/AIDS Research

Studies reveal the impact of agency coordination and high incarceration rates on sexually transmitted disease rates

Agency News and Notes

Hospitalizations soar for children with skin infections
Pneumonia is the most common reason for hospitalization
Thousands are struck down by summer heat and most are poor
Antidepressant prescriptions climb by 16 million

Announcements

New feature on AHRQ PSNet: Patient Safety Primers

Research Briefs

Research Briefs
Visit the AHRQ Patient Safety Network Web Site

AHRQ Publication No. 08-0073
Current as of September 2008

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. September 2008, No. 337. AHRQ Publication No. 08-0073. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/sep08/

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