Research Activities

September 2007, No. 325

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Contents

About Research Activities

Feature Story

Children with complex chronic conditions are more likely to die in their homes than in the hospital

Child/Adolescent Health

Parents of children with cancer are overly optimistic about a cure, but not about other outcomes of cancer therapy
Medication errors are made during care for half of the children seen at rural California emergency departments

Disparities/Minority Health

Perceived discrimination does not appear to affect black women's adherence to screening mammography guidelines
Elderly black men are less likely than white men to seek and receive care for lower urinary tract symptoms

Patient Safety and Quality

Hospitals that operate at or over capacity are more likely to have patient safety problems
Women in Medicare and private managed care plans receive worse care than men for cardiovascular disease and diabetes
Women with coronary heart disease are less likely than men to use aspirin to prevent further problems
A multipronged quality improvement strategy can markedly improve the quality of diabetes care and patient outcomes
Outpatient medication errors are common among patients who have received liver, kidney, and/or pancreas transplants

Women's Health

Domestic violence victims have higher health care use and costs than other women, even long after the abuse has ended
Exam room reminders and physician feedback can improve screening for chlamydia in young women during preventive care visits
Three clinical characteristics double the likelihood of hysterectomy for women with common noncancerous pelvic conditions

Elderly/Long-term Care

Home health care following hospitalization for hip fracture may provide an opportunity to limit osteoporosis progression
Nurses and physicians have different perspectives and roles in medical decisions affecting nursing home residents

Health Information Technology

Computerized drug-drug interaction alerts are useful, but can be improved

Pharmaceutical Research

Studies examine the safety of prescribing antipsychotics, acetylcholinesterase inhibitors, and beta-blockers to older adults
Medications that relieve pain and anxiety in acute trauma patients hold promise for prevention of posttraumatic stress disorder

Access to Care

The potency of laws equalizing coverage for mental health care varies between States
Medicare Part D provides coverage protection for mental health-related drugs, but certain drugs still may not be covered

Acute Care/Hospitalization

Intensive care nurses face noise, distractions, small workspace, and other obstacles to providing care to critically ill patients

HIV/AIDS

Drug therapy has reduced hospitalization for HIV patients, but those hospitalized are getting older and sicker
Effectively treating other medical conditions in patients with HIV may reduce HIV's overall impact on functioning
Available and timely access to AZT for HIV-infected mothers giving birth needs to be improved in Illinois birthing hospitals

Health Care Costs and Financing

Physicians seem to manage potential conflicts with managed care financial arrangements to retain patient trust
Physicians have positive attitudes about pay-for-quality programs, but are ambivalent about certain program features

Agency News and Notes

AHRQ's HCUP 2005 Nationwide Inpatient Sample is now available
New publications are available from AHRQ

Announcements

AHRQ announces new grant awards for Health Services Research Dissertation (R36)

Research Briefs

AHRQ Publication No. 07-0077
Current as of September 2007

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Internet Citation:

Research Activities Newsletter. September 2007, No. 325. AHRQ Publication No. 07-0077. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/research/sep07/

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