Research Activities, August 2011, No. 372 ContentsAbout Research ActivitiesFeature StoryAHRQ's clinical care tools help clinicians ensure better and safer careFrom the DirectorPatient Safety and QualityHospital-acquired infections dramatically increase trauma patients' risk of in-hospital death and hospital stayTrigger tools have potential to detect adverse events following outpatient surgeryElectronic order sets can help treatment conform to guidelines for antibiotic use after surgeryMental demands of pediatric hospital pharmacy staff have varying effects on likelihood of medication errors and adverse eventsHigh performance on quality measures linked to financial benefits for nursing homesChronic DiseasePatients with heart failure are older, have more illnesses, and take more medications than earlierDrugs to treat hepatitis B may not prevent patients from liver disease laterThe likelihood of bacterial blood infections among patients with HIV has risen slightly in recent yearsCaregivers for advanced cystic fibrosis patients want to discuss intensive treatments and symptom reliefDisparities/Minority HealthStudies examine possible disparities surrounding implantable cardioverter defibrillatorsHaving a usual source of care as well as insurance reduces unmet health needsChild/Adolescent HealthParents and primary care physicians are satisfied with children's use of nonurgent emergency department servicesA usual source of care may be more important than insurance on children's receipt of preventive health counselingWhen primary care providers apply fluoride varnish, young Medicaid-insured children have fewer cavitiesImpact of self-esteem and academic achievement on substance use and sexual initiation differs among boys and girlsWomen's HealthProviders miss opportunities to prevent depression in and discuss birth control with women with unplanned pregnanciesOutcomes/Effectiveness ResearchPrimary anterior cervical fusion has lower in-hospital complication rates and deaths than posterior cervical fusionHealth Care WorkforceOpportunities to pursue bachelor's degrees may be limited for nurses in rural hospitalsUnionized hospital RNs slightly less satisfied with work than nonunionized RNsAgency News and NotesNew ad campaign urges patients to consider medical treatment optionsCertain Americans pay more than 10 percent of their family income to pay for medical expensesEmployees' share of health plan premium costs up dramaticallySix of every 10 rural emergency departments visits made by poor patientsUp to $500 million in Affordable Care Act funding will help health providers improve careAnnouncementsSignups soar for AHRQ's popular CME coursesAHRQ offers interactive tool to analyze national and State health care data2009 Nationwide Inpatient Sample releasedNew brief outlines strategies to put patients at the center of primary careNew resources to care for community-dwelling patients during emergency eventsEmergency Preparedness Resource Inventory updatedResearch BriefsResearch BriefsSubscribe to AHRQ's Electronic NewsletterHealthcare 411Follow AHRQ news on Twitter Current as of August 2011 Internet Citation: Research Activities, August 2011, No. 372. August 2011. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/news/newsletters/research-activities/aug11/index.html
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