Research Activities

August 1997, No. 207

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Prophylactic mastectomy may provide substantial gains in life expectancy for women with cancer-disposing genes

Departments

Women's and Family Health
   Removing both ovaries during hysterectomy may increase a woman's risk of heart disease despite estrogen replacement therapy
   Certified nurse-midwives use fewer invasive techniques during labor and delivery for low-risk women than physicians
   Duration of maternity leave significantly affects maternal health
   Amoxicillin is often prescribed to prevent middle ear infections in young children, but it is only marginally effective
   Sexually transmitted diseases can directly affect pregnancy outcome
   Physicians are less likely to suspect TB in high-risk women than men

Critical Care Medicine
   Current triage guidelines for admitting patients to critical care units may not be appropriate
   Advance directives often are not specific enough to guide end-of-life medical decisions

Outcomes/Effectiveness Research
   Being overweight or underweight does not preclude elective noncardiac surgery for most patients
   Heart attack patients in the United States fare slightly better in the short-term than Canadian patients
   Many physicians have not fully adopted recommended cholesterol management practices
   Better communication increases satisfaction among men facing a decision about surgery for BPH
   Biliary Tract PORT studies focus on training physicians for new procedures and diagnosis of common bile duct stones

Health Insurance/Health Care Costs
   Little is known about how consumers choose health insurance plans
   HMO's comparative advantage in providing preventive services to women may be eroding
   State reimbursement guidelines reduce the number of spinal fusion surgeries for back-injured workers
   Home care may not be less expensive than institutional care for some ventilator-assisted individuals

Elderly/Long-term Care
   New functional index can predict stroke survivors' likelihood of achieving a modified level of functional recovery
   Racial differences persist in self-perceived health among elders who live alone

Special Populations
   Community-based prevention programs can positively affect some risky behaviors among disadvantaged youths
   Most deaths among homeless persons occur in mid-life and are preventable

Primary Care Research
   Many new challenges confront primary care researchers

AHCPR News and Notes
   Quality Commission's first priority is a "Consumers' Bill of Rights"
   AHCPR seeks applicants for two senior-level positions

Research Briefs
   The importance of patient preferences for comorbidities in cost-effectiveness analysis
   The marginal cost-effectiveness of medical technology: A panel instrumental-variables approach
   The barriers to electronic medical record systems and how to overcome them
   Assessment of physics quality assurance in United States radiotherapy facilities and comparison with American College of Radiology standard for radiation oncology physics for external beam therapy
   Combining single patient (N-of-1) trials to estimate population treatment effects and to evaluate individual patient responses to treatment

AHCPR Publication No. 97-0070
Current as of August 1997

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities newsletter. August 1997, No. 207. AHCPR Publication No. 97-0070. Agency for Health Care Policy and Research, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/aug97/

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