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RAND Health Newsletter

The RAND Health Newsletter is a monthly update that features recent research from RAND Health.


Contents of December 2007 RAND Health newsletter:

  1. Disease Management Programs May Improve Quality of Care, But May Not Save Money
  2. Eating as an Automatic Behavior
  3. Strategies for recalling sexual behavior among high-risk participants
  4. Postacute care changes and trends for Medicare beneficiaries
  5. Reducing child malnutrition in India
  6. Value-based health care approach may be cost-effective
  7. Inpatient costs associated with marijuana abuse
  8. Schools were not prepared for students' mental health needs after hurricanes Katrina and Rita
  9. December RAND Health Congressional Newsletter
  10. Recent research highlights and fact sheets from RAND Health

  1. Disease Management Programs May Improve Quality of Care, But May Not Save Money — Dec. 10, 2007

    Disease management programs that help guide the care of patients with chronic health problems appear to improve the quality of health care, but there is little evidence that such efforts actually save money.

    iconNews ReleaseiconAbstracticonMore quality of care research

    2. Citation: Mattke S, Seid M, Ma S. Evidence for the Effect of Disease Management: Is $1 Billion a Year a Good Investment?, American Journal of Managed Care, 2007;13:670-676.

  2. Eating as an Automatic Behavior — Dec. 19, 2007

    Conventional wisdom maintains that preventing obesity should be as simple as providing the right nutritional information and motivation. But a more effective approach is to decrease the accessibility, visibility and quantities of food to which people are exposed and reduce the environmental cues that promote eating.

    iconAbstract More researchMore research related to obesity

    3. Citation: Cohen DA, Farley TA. Preventing Chronic Disease, Volume 5, No.1, January 2008.

  3. Strategies for recalling sexual behavior among high-risk participants

    Self-reports of very frequent sexual behavior or large numbers of partners tend to be approximations. Prompting respondents to recall behavior in small, manageable chunks will yield more reliable information.

    Read abstractRead abstract More researchMore sexual behavior research

    4. Citation: Bogart LM, Walt LC, Pavlovic JD, Ober AJ, Brown N, Kalichman S. Health Psychology, Vol. 26, No. 6, Nov 2007, pp. 787-793.

  4. Postacute care changes and trends for Medicare beneficiaries

    Medicare's method of payment influences the type and intensity of postacute care (PAC) that beneficiaries receive. This article discusses changes to PAC provider payment, trends in use of PAC, and policy implications.

    Read abstractRead abstract More researchMore health economics research

    5. Citation: Buntin MB. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Vol. 88, No. 11, Nov 2007, pp. 1488-1493.

  5. Reducing child malnutrition in India

    A RAND evaluation of a UNICEF India nutrition initiative finds that it has the potential to reduce child malnutrition cost effectively.

    Read abstractRead abstract More researchMore global health research

    6. Citation: Dubowitz T, Levinson D, Peterman JN, Verma G, Jacob S, Schultink W. Food and Nutrition Bulletin, Vol. 28, No. 3, Sept 2007, pp. 266-273.

  6. Value-based health care approach may be cost-effective

    Health care in the United States is possibly becoming more value-conscious. Literature suggests doing so could reduce spending by up to 30% without affecting healthcare.

    Read abstractRead abstract More researchHealth economics research

    7. Citation: Garber A, Goldman DP, Jena AB. Health Affairs, Vol. 26, No. 6, Nov/Dec 2007, pp. 1545-1547.

  7. Inpatient costs associated with marijuana abuse

    Patients already suffering from alcohol abuse problems who also abuse marijuana may expect more expensive treatment bills and longer hospital stays, implying health consequences from marijuana abuse.

    Read abstractRead abstract More researchMore substance abuse research

    8. Citation: Pacula RL, Ringel J, Dobkin C, Truong K. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, Vol. 93, No. 103, Jan 2008, pp. 248-257.

  8. Schools were not prepared for students' mental health needs after hurricanes Katrina and Rita — December 17, 2007

    Some schools who received displaced students following hurricanes Katrina and Rita made significant efforts to meet the mental health needs of those students, but the schools had limited ability to implement programs. Pre-crisis training in mental health may help schools implement disaster-focused programs after a disaster.

    Read abstractRead abstract More researchMore mental health research

    9. Citation: Jaycox LH, Tanielian TL, Sharma P, Morse L, Clum G, Stein BD. Psychiatric Services, Vol. 58, No. 10, Oct 2007, pp. 1339-1343.

  9. December RAND Health Congressional Newsletter

    The December RAND Health Congressional newsletter focuses on diabetes. December is National Diabetes Awareness Month.

    Read newsletterRead newsletter Subscribe to newsletterSubscribe to newsletter

  10. Recent research highlights and fact sheets from RAND Health

    • Mental Health and Substance Abuse Issues Among People with HIV: Lessons from HCSUS – RB-9300
    • State Insurance Mandates and Consumer-Directed Health Plans: Are They Helping Small Business Provide Health Insurance to Employees? – RB-9305

Housekeeping

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Mary Vaiana, Communications Director of RAND Health, can be reached at Mary_Vaiana@rand.org.

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