RAND Health Newsletter
The RAND Health Newsletter is a monthly update that features recent research from RAND Health.
Contents of February 2007 RAND Health newsletter:
- Chronically ill patients who receive higher quality care have better outcomes
- Few HIV-positive parents make formal guardianship arrangements for their children
- Report assesses findings of European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection
- "One shot for one syringe" behavior is associated with lower HIV risk
- Public parks are critical resource in minority communities
- Accounting for the effects of institutionalization in assessing the effects of drug treatment
- Improving health care delivery systems requires built-in educational component
- Obesity and the role of the food industry
- February RAND Health Congressional Newsletter
- Recent research highlights and fact sheets from RAND Health
Chronically ill patients who receive higher quality care have better outcomes
Better outpatient care has been linked to improved health outcomes among non-elderly adults with chronic illnesses, according to a recent study involving over 900 adults with conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. Patients who received even moderately better care showed improved quality in life. The study also found that the sickest patients were the most likely to receive recommended medical care, suggesting that doctors should increase the preventive care offered to chronically ill but stable patients.
News release Read abstract 
More end-of-life care researchMore aging and health research- Citation: Kahn KL, Tisnado DM, Adams JL, Liu H, Chen W, Hu FA, Mangione CM, Hays RD, Damberg CL. Does Ambulatory Process of Care Predict Health-Related Quality of Life Outcomes for Patients with Chronic Disease? Health Services Research, Volume 42 Issue 1p1 Page 63 - February 2007
Few HIV-positive parents make formal guardianship arrangements for their children
A survey of a nationally representative sample of more than 200 unmarried parents who are HIV-infected examined the levels of guardianship they have planned for their children in the event of their death. Results also indicate that pediatricians may be key in providing referrals for guardianship planning.News release Read abstract More HIV researchMore end-of-life care research- Citation: Cowgill BO, Beckett MK, Corona R, Elliott MN, Parra MT, Zhou AJ, Schuster MA. Guardianship Planning Among HIV-Infected Parents in the United States: Results From a Nationally Representative Sample, Pediatrics,, Vol. 119 No. 2 February 2007, pp. e391-e398.
Report assesses findings of European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection
The three non-food scientific committees at the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO) provide the commission with scientific advice for policy and proposal preparation in the areas of consumer safety, public health, and the environment. RAND has prepared a report that assesses that advice, guides the commission services in the renewal of the membership of the three scientific committees in 2007, and draws the commission's attention to new or emerging issues that may pose an actual or potential threat.- Citation: Levitt R, Hoorens S, Hallsworth M, Rubin J, Klautzer L. Intermediate evaluation of Directorate-General Health and Consumer Protection non-food scientific committees, RAND Report, 2007.
"One shot for one syringe" behavior is associated with lower HIV risk
HIV risk associated with injection drug use was assessed among almost 1,600 injection drug users. Users who obtained enough syringes from syringe exchange programs to use each one only once appear to have safer injection behaviors and do not dispose of the syringes improperly.Read abstract More HIV research - Citation: Bluthenthal RN, Anderson R, Flynn NM, Kral AH. Higher Syringe Coverage is Associated with Lower Odds of HIV Risk and Does Not Increase Unsafe Syringe Disposal Among Syringe Exchange Program Clients, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, [Epub Feb 5 2007].
Public parks are critical resource in minority communities
Interviews with and assessment of some 1400 users of 8 public parks in low-income minority communities revealed that while these parks are a critical resource in minority communities, the number and location of parks are currently insufficient to serve area residents.Read abstract More research for neighborhood influences on health - Citation: Cohen DA, McKenzie TL, Sehgal A, Williamson S, Golineli D, Lurie N. How Do Public Parks Contribute to Physical Activity? American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 97, No. 3, March 1 2007, pp. 509-514 [Epub Jan 31 2007].
Accounting for the effects of institutionalization in assessing the effects of drug treatment
Drug treatment clients are at high risk for institutionalization: confinement for periods of a day or more in controlled environments that limit access to illegal drugs and the ability to engage in other criminal behaviors. Thus, findings of longitudinal studies that assess the effects of treatment on such outcomes may be confounded if they fail to take institutionalization into account. A new paper presents a causal modeling framework for evaluating four standard approaches to address this problem.Read abstract More substance abuse research - Citation: McCaffrey DF, Morral AR, Ridgeway G, Griffin BA. Interpreting Treatment Effects When Cases Are Institutionalized After Treatment, Drug and Alcohol Dependence, [Epub Jan 31 2007].
Improving health care delivery systems requires built-in educational component
When health care organizations improve their health care delivery systems to increase quality, they must re-educate their staff and providers to use the new systems. A study assessing the implementation of a program to improve the quality of depression care suggests that the best method of re-education is to build education into the process from the beginning rather than relying on a separate system.Read abstract More quality of care research - Citation: Sherman SE, Fotiades J, Rubenstein LV, Gilman SC, Vivell S, Chaney E, Yano EM, Felker B. Teaching Systems-Based Practice to Primary Care Physicians to Foster Routine Implementation of Evidence-Based Depression Care, Academic Medicine Vol. 82, No. 2, Feb 2007, pp. 168-175.
Obesity and the role of the food industry
Dr. Deborah Cohen, RAND senior natural scientist, writes a commentary for the Washington Post questioning who is responsible for the obesity epidemic in the United States.
Read the piece at the Washington Post More public health research - Citation: Cohen D. A Desired Epidemic: Obesity and the Food Industry, washingtonpost.com, Feb 20, 2007.
February RAND Health Congressional Newsletter
February's newsletter examines consumer-directed health care. Early evidence shows that use of consumer-directed health care reduces health care use and spending, but has mixed effects on quality of care.Recent research highlights and fact sheets from RAND Health
- Consumer-Directed Health Care: Early Evidence Shows Lower Costs, Mixed Effects on Quality of Care RB9234
Housekeeping
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Mary Vaiana, Communications Director of RAND Health, can be reached at Mary_Vaiana@rand.org.
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