Research Activities

April 2001, No. 248

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

A common ear surgery for children does not measurably improve development at age 3

Children's Health

By the time extremely low birthweight babies reach adolescence, their parents have adjusted fairly well to work and family life
Researchers explore children's access to and use of health care services
Efforts to improve the quality of health care services for children show positive results

Clinical Decisionmaking

Use of warfarin to reduce risk of stroke in very elderly people with atrial fibrillation is challenging
Routine hospitalization of all cocaine users seen in the ER for cardiac symptoms may not be warranted
Reactivity to allergen skin tests has no bearing on mortality or cancer risk
Cervical smears in previously screened postmenopausal women are poor predictors of cervical neoplasia
Feedback from an electronic medical record can help primary care doctors improve their initial management of depression

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research

Researchers study the causes of low back pain, use of imaging to identify herniated disks, and cancer in back pain patients
Training primary care physicians in manual therapy gives them another way to treat back pain patients, but benefits are modest

Patient Safety/Quality of Care

Analyzing near-miss medical errors by graduate medical trainees can identify ways to improve medical education
Researchers confirm that ongoing doctor-patient relationships based on trust are critical for effective care
Patients' postal codes can be used as an indicator of socioeconomic status for adjusting physician profiles

Smoking Cessation

Young adults often smoke to control their weight, even though most of them want to stop smoking

Health Care Costs and Financing

HMOs should adjust their use of inhaled anti-inflammatory medicines for asthma patients to meet national guidelines
Treating more Medicaid managed care patients in community health centers may reduce care for uninsured patients
Health plan choice is associated with increased enrollment in employer-based coverage
Health insurance enrollment is declining in industries with large minority workforces
Equalizing coverage for mental health and physical health would substantially reduce consumers' share of mental health costs

Long-term Care

Nursing homes are adding new services to compete with other long-term care providers

Special Populations

Poor black women who lose a mother or sister during pregnancy are more likely to have preterm births
Severity of homelessness predicts low birthweight and preterm births irrespective of risk factors and prenatal care
Major inequalities in health exist within Pakistan and between Pakistan and the United States

Agency News and Notes

AHRQ to participate in new HHS task force on patient safety
Procedures in U.S. Hospitals, 1997: A New Resource on Hospital Care
AHRQ publishes evidence report summaries on osteoporosis and four other topics

Announcements

U.S. Preventive Services Task Force calls for chlamydia and lipid screening and issues two other recommendations
Grant final reports now available from NTIS

Research Briefs

Current as of April 2001
AHRQ Publication No. 01-0028

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities newsletter. April 2001, No. 248. AHRQ Publication No. 01-0028. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/apr01/

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