National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
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AHRQ Research Studies
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Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 25 of 64 Research Studies DisplayedSmith MA, Bednarz L, Nordby PA
Increasing consumer engagement by tailoring a public reporting website on the quality of diabetes care: a qualitative study.
The goal of this study was to determine if tailoring quality reports to persons with diabetes mellitus and co-occurring chronic conditions would increase user engagement with a website that publicly reports the quality of diabetes care. It concluded that tailoring can be used to improve public reporting sites for individuals with chronic conditions, ultimately allowing consumers to make more informed health care decisions.
AHRQ-funded; HS021899.
Citation: Smith MA, Bednarz L, Nordby PA .
Increasing consumer engagement by tailoring a public reporting website on the quality of diabetes care: a qualitative study.
J Med Internet Res 2016 Dec 21;18(12):e332. doi: 10.2196/jmir.6555.
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Keywords: Chronic Conditions, Decision Making, Diabetes, Patient and Family Engagement, Web-Based
Califf RM, Robb MA, Bindman AB
AHRQ Author: Bindman AB, Dymek C
Transforming evidence generation to support health and health care decisions.
Collaborations among federal health agencies involved in biomedical research and health care delivery with regard to data sharing, research infrastructure, and computational capabilities require combining expertise and resources and will entail substantial changes to the culture of clinical research, In this article, the authors propose a set of core principles for data collaboration and system organizational design that they believe will further enable research efforts by both the private sector and government agencies.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Califf RM, Robb MA, Bindman AB .
Transforming evidence generation to support health and health care decisions.
N Engl J Med 2016 Dec 15;375(24):2395-400. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsb1610128.
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Keywords: Healthcare Delivery, Decision Making, Evidence-Based Practice, Policy
Roosan D, Samore M, Jones M
Big-data based decision-support systems to improve clinicians' cognition.
This study focused on answers from the experts on how clinical reasoning can be supported by population-based Big-Data. It found cognitive strategies such as trajectory tracking, perspective taking, and metacognition has the potential to improve clinicians' cognition to deal with complex problems. These cognitive strategies all have important implications for the design of Big-Data based decision-support tools that could be embedded in electronic health records.
AHRQ-funded; HS023349.
Citation: Roosan D, Samore M, Jones M .
Big-data based decision-support systems to improve clinicians' cognition.
IEEE Int Conf Healthc Inform 2016;2016:285-88. doi: 10.1109/ichi.2016.39.
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Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Decision Making, Data, Electronic Health Records (EHRs)
Islam R, Weir C, Del Fiol G
Clinical complexity in medicine: a measurement model of task and patient complexity.
The objective of this paper is to develop an integrated approach to understand and measure clinical complexity by incorporating both task and patient complexity components focusing on the infectious disease domain. The proposed clinical complexity model consists of two separate components:1) a clinical task complexity model with 13 clinical complexity-contributing factors and 7 dimensions and 2) a patient complexity model with 11 complexity-contributing factors and 5 dimensions.
AHRQ-funded; HS023349.
Citation: Islam R, Weir C, Del Fiol G .
Clinical complexity in medicine: a measurement model of task and patient complexity.
Methods Inf Med 2016;55(1):14-22. doi: 10.3414/me15-01-0031.
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Keywords: Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT)
Melnick ER, Probst MA, Schoenfeld E
Development and testing of shared decision making interventions for use in emergency care: a research agenda.
This article provides background on decision aids and the conclusions of the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine consensus conference SDM in practice work group regarding "Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-Relevant, Patient-Centered Research Agenda."
AHRQ-funded; HS021271; HS024311.
Citation: Melnick ER, Probst MA, Schoenfeld E .
Development and testing of shared decision making interventions for use in emergency care: a research agenda.
Acad Emerg Med 2016 Dec;23(12):1346-53. doi: 10.1111/acem.13045.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Emergency Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Patient-Centered Healthcare, Policy
Dodd KW, Berman A, Brown J
Funding research in emergency department shared decision making: a summary of the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference Panel Discussion.
This article summarizes a panel discussion of funding priorities and examples of successfully funded projects related to shared decision making in emergency medicine. The discussion was part of the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, "Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-relevant Patient-centered Research Agenda."
AHRQ-funded; HS024172.
Citation: Dodd KW, Berman A, Brown J .
Funding research in emergency department shared decision making: a summary of the 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference Panel Discussion.
Acad Emerg Med 2016 Dec;23(12):1340-45. doi: 10.1111/acem.13063.
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Keywords: Emergency Department, Decision Making, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Health Services Research (HSR)
Gordon HS, Street RL
How physicians, patients, and observers compare on the use of qualitative and quantitative measures of physician-patient communication.
The purpose of this study was to compare several different measures of physician-patient communication. Communication was measured with rating scales completed by patients and physicians and by two groups of external observers who used rating scales or coded the frequency of communication behaviors. The findings highlight the potential for using observers' ratings as an alternate measure of communication to more labor intensive frequency measures.
AHRQ-funded; HS010876.
Citation: Gordon HS, Street RL .
How physicians, patients, and observers compare on the use of qualitative and quantitative measures of physician-patient communication.
Eval Health Prof 2016 Dec;39(4):496-511. doi: 10.1177/0163278715625737.
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Keywords: Communication, Decision Making, Patient and Family Engagement, Clinician-Patient Communication
Krakovitz PR, Boss EF
Intraoperative nerve monitoring during thyroidectomy-more complex than cost alone.
This brief invited commentary discussed intraoperative nerve monitoring and surgery.
AHRQ-funded; HS022932.
Citation: Krakovitz PR, Boss EF .
Intraoperative nerve monitoring during thyroidectomy-more complex than cost alone.
JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 2016 Dec;142(12):1206-07. doi: 10.1001/jamaoto.2016.3116.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Healthcare Costs, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Quality of Life, Surgery
Perone JA, Riall TS, Olino K
Palliative care for pancreatic and periampullary cancer.
This article summarizes surgical, endoscopic, and other palliative techniques for relief of obstructive jaundice, relief of duodenal or gastric outlet obstruction, and relief of pain due to invasion of the celiac plexus. It also introduces the utility of the palliative care triangle in clarifying a patient's and family's goals to guide decision making.
AHRQ-funded; HS022134.
Citation: Perone JA, Riall TS, Olino K .
Palliative care for pancreatic and periampullary cancer.
Surg Clin North Am 2016 Dec;96(6):1415-30. doi: 10.1016/j.suc.2016.07.012.
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Keywords: Cancer, Palliative Care, Pain, Decision Making
Castaneda-Guarderas A, Glassbereg J, Grudzen CR
Shared decision making with vulnerable populations in the emergency department.
The authors introduce a research agenda that includes community-engaged approaches, mixed-methods studies, and cost-effectiveness analyses to address questions of shared decision making (SDM) among vulnerable groups at a disadvantage in the healthcare system, as well as changes that are needed, and how to cultivate and teach these competencies.
AHRQ-funded; HS024172.
Citation: Castaneda-Guarderas A, Glassbereg J, Grudzen CR .
Shared decision making with vulnerable populations in the emergency department.
Acad Emerg Med 2016 Dec;23(12):1410-16. doi: 10.1111/acem.13134.
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Keywords: Cultural Competence, Decision Making, Emergency Department, Patient and Family Engagement, Vulnerable Populations
Grudzen CR, Anderson JR, Carpenter CR
The 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-relevant Patient-centered Research Agenda May 10, 2016, New Orleans, LA.
The authors described the current state of shared decision making in the emergency department context and provided an overview of the conference. They explained that the results of the conference published in the same journal issue provided an essential summary of the future research priorities for shared decision making to increase quality of care and patient-centered outcomes.
AHRQ-funded; HS024172.
Citation: Grudzen CR, Anderson JR, Carpenter CR .
The 2016 Academic Emergency Medicine Consensus Conference, Shared Decision Making in the Emergency Department: Development of a Policy-relevant Patient-centered Research Agenda May 10, 2016, New Orleans, LA.
Acad Emerg Med 2016 Dec;23(12):1313-19. doi: 10.1111/acem.13047.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Emergency Department, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Patient-Centered Healthcare, Policy
Harrison KL, Taylor HA
Healthcare resource allocation decisions affecting uninsured services.
The authors described resource allocation and policy decisions related to providing health services for the uninsured. They recommend that how healthcare decisions are actually made can be matched with literature that describes how healthcare resource decisions ought to be made, in order to provide a normative grounding for future decisions.
AHRQ-funded; HS000029.
Citation: Harrison KL, Taylor HA .
Healthcare resource allocation decisions affecting uninsured services.
J Health Organ Manag 2016 Nov 21;30(8):1162-82. doi: 10.1108/jhom-01-2016-0003.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Health Services Research (HSR), Policy, Uninsured
Volk RJ, Linder SK, Lopez-Olivo MA
Patient decision aids for colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
This systematic review describes studies evaluating patient decision aids for colorectal cancer screening in average-risk adults and their impact on knowledge, screening intentions, and uptake. It concluded that decision aids improve knowledge and interest in screening, and lead to increased screening over no information, but their impact on screening is similar to general colorectal cancer screening information.
AHRQ-funded; HS022134.
Citation: Volk RJ, Linder SK, Lopez-Olivo MA .
Patient decision aids for colorectal cancer screening: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Am J Prev Med 2016 Nov;51(5):779-91. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.06.022.
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Keywords: Cancer: Colorectal Cancer, Decision Making, Education: Patient and Caregiver, Healthcare Utilization, Screening
Kantor R, Dalal P, Cella D
Research letter: Impact of pruritus on quality of life-a systematic review.
This systematic review was designed to identify all review articles and qualitative or mixed methods studies pertaining to the impact of pruritus on quality of life. It concluded that the lack of concordance between qualitative studies and review articles suggests there are practice gaps with how pruritus is evaluated and managed.
AHRQ-funded; HS023011.
Citation: Kantor R, Dalal P, Cella D .
Research letter: Impact of pruritus on quality of life-a systematic review.
J Am Acad Dermatol 2016 Nov;75(5):885-86.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.jaad.2016.07.016.
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Keywords: Quality of Life, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Decision Making
Goff SL, Mazor KM, Pekow PS
Patient navigators and parent use of quality data: a randomized trial.
The authors explored the effectiveness of strategies to overcome barriers in vulnerable populations. They found that an intervention to reduce barriers to using publicly reported health care quality data had a modest effect on patient choice, suggesting that factors other than performance on common publicly reported quality metrics have a stronger influence on which pediatric practices women choose.
AHRQ-funded; HS021864.
Citation: Goff SL, Mazor KM, Pekow PS .
Patient navigators and parent use of quality data: a randomized trial.
Pediatrics 2016 Oct;138(4). doi: 10.1542/peds.2016-1140.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Quality of Care, Public Reporting, Quality Indicators (QIs), Vulnerable Populations
Tyler Ellis C, Charlton ME, Stitzenberg KB
Patient-reported roles, preferences, and expectations regarding treatment of stage i rectal cancer in the cancer care outcomes research and surveillance consortium.
The researchers identified patient roles, preferences, and expectations as they relate to treatment decision making for patients with stage I rectal cancer. They found that, in this study of 154 adults with newly-diagnosed and surgically treated stage 1 rectal cancer, the preferred decision-making role for patients did not match the actual decision-making process. They recommended that future efforts focus on bridging the gap between the decision-making process and patient preferences regarding various treatment approaches.
AHRQ-funded; HS000032.
Citation: Tyler Ellis C, Charlton ME, Stitzenberg KB .
Patient-reported roles, preferences, and expectations regarding treatment of stage i rectal cancer in the cancer care outcomes research and surveillance consortium.
Dis Colon Rectum 2016 Oct;59(10):907-15. doi: 10.1097/dcr.0000000000000662.
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Keywords: Cancer: Colorectal Cancer, Decision Making, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Patient Experience, Patient and Family Engagement
Tan JY, Xu LJ, Lopez FY
Shared decision making among clinicians and Asian American and Pacific Islander sexual and gender minorities: an intersectional approach to address a critical care gap.
The authors illustrated how issues at the intersection of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) and sexual and gender minorities (SGM) identities affect shared decision making processes and health outcomes. They discussed experiences of AAPI SGM that are affected by AAPI heterogeneity, SGM stigma, multiple minority group identities, and sources of discrimination.
AHRQ-funded; HS022433.
Citation: Tan JY, Xu LJ, Lopez FY .
Shared decision making among clinicians and Asian American and Pacific Islander sexual and gender minorities: an intersectional approach to address a critical care gap.
LGBT Health 2016 Oct;3(5):327-34. doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2015.0143.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Disparities, Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Clinician-Patient Communication, Social Stigma
Grundy Q
"Whether something cool is good enough": the role of evidence, sales representatives and nurses' expertise in hospital purchasing decisions.
The author analyzed the ways that committee members constructed and evaluated a case for a product's value, concluding that purchasing committees need unique support that emphasizes local contexts and expertise, while maintaining rigor and minimizing bias. Grundy proposed a guiding framework to support this decision-making.
AHRQ-funded; HS022383.
Citation: Grundy Q .
"Whether something cool is good enough": the role of evidence, sales representatives and nurses' expertise in hospital purchasing decisions.
Soc Sci Med 2016 Sep;165:82-91. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.07.042.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Healthcare Costs, Hospitals, Nursing
Patterson ES, Militello LG, Su G
Characterizing a naturalistic decision making phenomenon: loss of system resilience associated with implementation of new technology.
The researchers describe a phenomenon viewed through the conceptual lens of a naturalistic decision making perspective: a loss of system resilience, due to increased difficulty in performing macrocognition functions, associated with the implementation of new information technology. The loss of system resilience is due to increased difficulty in performing macrocognition functions such as sensemaking due to less effective cognitive warm-up and collaborative framing strategies.
AHRQ-funded; HS023558.
Citation: Patterson ES, Militello LG, Su G .
Characterizing a naturalistic decision making phenomenon: loss of system resilience associated with implementation of new technology.
J Cogn Eng Decis Mak 2016 Sep;10(3):229-43. doi: 10.1177/1555343416652524.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Health Information Technology (HIT), Patient Safety
Gulbrandsen P, Clayman ML, Beach MC
Shared decision-making as an existential journey: aiming for restored autonomous capacity.
The researchers described the different ways in which illness represents an existential problem, and its implications for shared decision-making. They found that the fundamental uncertainty, state of vulnerability, and lack of power of the ill patient, imbue shared decision-making with a deeper existential significance and call for greater attention to the emotional and relational dimensions of care. They propose that the aim of shared decision-making should be restoration of the patient's autonomous capacity.
AHRQ-funded; HS022932.
Citation: Gulbrandsen P, Clayman ML, Beach MC .
Shared decision-making as an existential journey: aiming for restored autonomous capacity.
Patient Educ Couns 2016 Sep;99(9):1505-10. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2016.07.014.
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Keywords: Communication, Decision Making, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient and Family Engagement, Clinician-Patient Communication
Ladapo JA, Blecker S, O'Donnell M
Appropriate use of cardiac stress testing with imaging: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
The authors systematically reviewed studies of appropriate use criteria (AUC), evaluated trends over time, and characterized leading indications for inappropriate testing. They found that rates of appropriate use tend to be lower for stress echocardiography compared to myocardial perfusion imaging, and updated AUC reduced unclassified stress echocardiograms. They concluded that there is no conclusive evidence that AUC improved appropriate use over time.
AHRQ-funded; HS023683.
Citation: Ladapo JA, Blecker S, O'Donnell M .
Appropriate use of cardiac stress testing with imaging: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
PLoS One 2016 Aug 18;11(8):e0161153. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161153.
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Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Decision Making, Imaging, Guidelines
Bonafide CP, Roland D, Brady PW
Rapid response systems 20 years later: new approaches, old challenges.
In this article, the authors propose a set of recommendations for a research agenda aimed at pursuing the work of optimizing the identification of deteriorating children. They recommend that the second generation of pediatric rapid response systems continue to build on past achievements while further optimizing use of the data, tools, and people available at the bedside to take the next leap forward.
AHRQ-funded; HS023827.
Citation: Bonafide CP, Roland D, Brady PW .
Rapid response systems 20 years later: new approaches, old challenges.
JAMA Pediatr 2016 Aug;170(8):729-30. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2016.0398.
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Keywords: Children/Adolescents, Clinical Decision Support (CDS), Decision Making, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Hospitals
Melnick ER, O'Brien EG, Kovalerchik O
The association between physician empathy and variation in imaging use.
This paper's objective was to describe empathy in a cohort of emergency physicians and evaluate its association with CT utilization. The authors found that, on the four psychometric scales used, performance was not predictive of risk-adjusted CT utilization in the emergency department. They concluded that the underlying physician-based factors that mediate interphysician variation remain to be clearly identified.
AHRQ-funded; HS021271.
Citation: Melnick ER, O'Brien EG, Kovalerchik O .
The association between physician empathy and variation in imaging use.
Acad Emerg Med 2016 Aug;23(8):895-904. doi: 10.1111/acem.13017.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Healthcare Utilization, Imaging, Practice Patterns
Linder SK, Kamath GR, Pratt GF
Citation searches are more sensitive than keyword searches to identify studies using specific measurement instruments.
This study compared the effectiveness of two search methods in identifying studies that used the Control Preferences Scale (CPS), a health care decision-making instrument commonly used in clinical settings. It found that keyword searches in bibliographic databases yielded high average precision (90%) but low average sensitivity (16%). PubMed was the most precise, followed closely by Scopus and WOS.
AHRQ-funded; HS022134.
Citation: Linder SK, Kamath GR, Pratt GF .
Citation searches are more sensitive than keyword searches to identify studies using specific measurement instruments.
J Clin Epidemiol 2015 Apr;68(4):412-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jclinepi.2014.10.008..
Keywords: Research Methodologies, Decision Making, Evidence-Based Practice
Simianu VV, Fichera A, Bastawrous AL
Number of diverticulitis episodes before resection and factors associated with earlier interventions.
The authors described patterns of episodes of diverticulitis before surgery and factors associated with earlier interventions using inpatient, outpatient, and antibiotic prescription claims. They found that 56.3% of elective resections for uncomplicated diverticulitis occurred after fewer than 3 episodes. Further, they determined that earlier surgery was not explained by younger age, laparoscopy, time between the last 2 episodes preceding surgery, or financial risk-bearing for patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS020025.
Citation: Simianu VV, Fichera A, Bastawrous AL .
Number of diverticulitis episodes before resection and factors associated with earlier interventions.
JAMA Surg 2016 Jul;151(7):604-10. doi: 10.1001/jamasurg.2015.5478.
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Keywords: Decision Making, Digestive Disease and Health, Health Systems, Healthcare Utilization, Surgery