National Healthcare Quality and Disparities Report
Latest available findings on quality of and access to health care
Data
- Data Infographics
- Data Visualizations
- Data Tools
- Data Innovations
- All-Payer Claims Database
- Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP)
- Medical Expenditure Panel Survey (MEPS)
- AHRQ Quality Indicator Tools for Data Analytics
- State Snapshots
- United States Health Information Knowledgebase (USHIK)
- Data Sources Available from AHRQ
Search All Research Studies
Topics
- Blood Thinners (1)
- (-) Cardiovascular Conditions (8)
- Care Coordination (1)
- Caregiving (1)
- Chronic Conditions (1)
- Clinician-Patient Communication (2)
- (-) Communication (8)
- Critical Care (1)
- Decision Making (1)
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS) (1)
- Evidence-Based Practice (2)
- Guidelines (1)
- Healthcare Delivery (1)
- Health Information Technology (HIT) (1)
- Heart Disease and Health (5)
- Implementation (1)
- Medication (1)
- Palliative Care (1)
- Patient-Centered Healthcare (2)
- Patient-Centered Outcomes Research (2)
- Patient Safety (1)
- Prevention (3)
- Primary Care (2)
- Quality Improvement (2)
- Quality of Care (3)
- Racial and Ethnic Minorities (1)
- Simulation (1)
- Stroke (1)
- Surgery (1)
- Teams (1)
- Telehealth (1)
- Training (1)
AHRQ Research Studies
Sign up: AHRQ Research Studies Email updates
Research Studies is a compilation of published research articles funded by AHRQ or authored by AHRQ researchers.
Results
1 to 8 of 8 Research Studies DisplayedEjem D, Steinhauser K, Dionne-Odom JN
Exploring culturally responsive religious and spirituality health care communications among African Americans with advanced heart failure, their family caregivers, and clinicians.
This study explored how religion and spirituality (R/S) impacts the ways that African Americans (AAs) cope with serious illness. In particular, this study looks at AAs with advanced heart failure and their family caregivers’ (FCGs) preferences about R/S in patient-clinician communication. Transcribed interviews were analyzed to identify emergent themes. AA patient participants (n = 15) were a mean age of 62, 40% female, and 87% had >high school diploma/GED. AA FCGs (n = 14) were a mean age of 58, 93% female, 93% had >high school diploma/GED, and 86% were unemployed. Most caregivers were patients’ spouses/partners. All participants were Protestants. Patients and FCGs perspectives differed in relation to inclusion of R/S in health care communication. Patients felt that R/S should not be discussed in clinical encounters and discussed only if patient initiated. FCGs felt that clinicians’ R/S communication is not a priority, but clinicians should openly acknowledge patients’ R/S beliefs and should engage in R/S conversations with patients.
AHRQ-funded; HS013852.
Citation: Ejem D, Steinhauser K, Dionne-Odom JN .
Exploring culturally responsive religious and spirituality health care communications among African Americans with advanced heart failure, their family caregivers, and clinicians.
J Palliat Med 2021 Dec;24(12):1798-806. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2021.0044..
Keywords: Racial and Ethnic Minorities, Communication, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Caregiving
Hadler RA, Curtis BR, Ikejiani DZ
"I'd have to basically be on my deathbed": heart failure patients' perceptions of and preferences for palliative care.
This cohort study examined individuals with New York Heart Association Class II-IV disease attitude towards palliative care (PC). Participants were recruited from inpatient and outpatient settings at an academic quaternary care hospital. They were given semistructured interviews discussing perceptions, knowledge, and preferences regarding PC, and also barriers to to PC delivery by facilitators. They interviewed 27 adults with heart failure (mean age 63, 85% white, 63% male). Participants frequently confused PC with hospice but once corrected they expressed variable preferences for primary versus specialist services. Preferences for primary versus specialist PC were based on different factors. Although there was more understanding of PC after the interviews, triggers for initiation remained focused on late-stage disease.
AHRQ-funded; HS022989.
Citation: Hadler RA, Curtis BR, Ikejiani DZ .
"I'd have to basically be on my deathbed": heart failure patients' perceptions of and preferences for palliative care.
J Palliat Med 2020 Jul;23(7):915-21. doi: 10.1089/jpm.2019.0451..
Keywords: Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Palliative Care, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication, Chronic Conditions
Stangenes SR, Painter IS, Rea TD
Delays in recognition of the need for telephone-assisted CPR due to caller descriptions of chief complaint.
The objective of this study was to test if caller descriptions of chief complaint delays emergency medical dispatchers' (EMDs) recognition of the need for telephone-assisted CPR (T-CPR). The investigators conducted an analysis of N = 433 cardiac arrest calls from six large call centers in the United States. They concluded that caller chief complaint description affected the time to recognition of the need for T-CPR.
AHRQ-funded; HS021658.
Citation: Stangenes SR, Painter IS, Rea TD .
Delays in recognition of the need for telephone-assisted CPR due to caller descriptions of chief complaint.
Resuscitation 2020 Apr;149:82-86. doi: 10.1016/j.resuscitation.2020.02.013..
Keywords: Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Cardiovascular Conditions, Patient Safety, Quality of Care, Telehealth, Health Information Technology (HIT), Communication
Brand-McCarthy SR, Delaney RK, Noseworthy PA
Can shared decision making improve stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation?: Implications of the updated guidelines.
This paper discusses the need for shared decision making (SDM) in atrial fibrillation (AF) patients not just at the beginning of treatment but throughout during ongoing care. Use of SDM can help with patient adherence to recommended anticoagulation treatment regimens and lifestyle changes. It can help build a strong partnership between clinician and patient.
AHRQ-funded; HS026379.
Citation: Brand-McCarthy SR, Delaney RK, Noseworthy PA .
Can shared decision making improve stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation?: Implications of the updated guidelines.
Circ Cardiovasc Qual Outcomes 2020 Mar;13(3):e006080. doi: 10.1161/circoutcomes.119.006080..
Keywords: Decision Making, Stroke, Heart Disease and Health, Cardiovascular Conditions, Prevention, Guidelines, Blood Thinners, Medication, Clinician-Patient Communication, Communication
Chou AF, Homco JB, Nagykaldi Z
Disseminating, implementing, and evaluating patient-centered outcomes to improve cardiovascular care using a stepped-wedge design: healthy hearts for Oklahoma.
The Healthy Hearts for Oklahoma (H2O) Study proposes to build a quality improvement (QI) infrastructure by (1) constructing a sustainable Oklahoma Primary Healthcare Improvement Collaborative (OPHIC) to support dissemination and implementation (D&I) of QI methods; and (2) providing QI support in primary care practices to better manage patients at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. H2O has 263 small primary care practices across Oklahoma that receive the bundled QI intervention to improve ABCS (aspirin therapy, blood pressure control, cholesterol management, and smoking cessation) performance. The infrastructure established as a result of this funding will help reach medically underserved Oklahomans, particularly among rural and tribal populations.
AHRQ-funded; HS023919.
Citation: Chou AF, Homco JB, Nagykaldi Z .
Disseminating, implementing, and evaluating patient-centered outcomes to improve cardiovascular care using a stepped-wedge design: healthy hearts for Oklahoma.
BMC Health Serv Res 2018 Jun 4;18(1):404. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-3189-4.
.
.
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Communication, Heart Disease and Health, Healthcare Delivery, Evidence-Based Practice, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Primary Care, Prevention, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement
Meyers D, Miller T, Genevro J
AHRQ Author: Meyers D, Miller T, Genevro J, Zhan C, De La Mare J, Fournier A, Bennett H, McNellis RJ
EvidenceNOW: Balancing primary care implementation and implementation research.
In 2015, AHRQ invested in the largest primary care research project in its history. EvidenceNOW is a $112 million effort to disseminate and implement patient-centered outcomes research evidence in more than 1,500 primary care practices and to study how quality-improvement support can build the capacity of primary care practices to understand and apply evidence. EvidenceNOW comprises 7 implementation research grants, each funded to provide external quality-improvement support to primary care practices to implement evidence-based cardiovascular care and to conduct rigorous internal evaluations of their work.
AHRQ-authored.
Citation: Meyers D, Miller T, Genevro J .
EvidenceNOW: Balancing primary care implementation and implementation research.
Ann Fam Med 2018 Apr;16(Suppl 1):S5-s11. doi: 10.1370/afm.2196.
.
.
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Communication, Evidence-Based Practice, Heart Disease and Health, Patient-Centered Healthcare, Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Prevention, Primary Care, Quality of Care, Quality Improvement, Implementation
Everson J, Funk RJ, Kaufman SR
Repeated, close physician coronary artery bypass grafting teams associated with greater teamwork.
This study sought to determine whether observed patterns of physician interaction around shared patients are associated with higher levels of teamwork as perceived by physicians. It found that in hospitals where physicians repeatedly cared for patients with the same colleagues, physicians perceived better teamwork. When physicians who worked together also had other colleagues in common, the reported teamwork was stronger.
AHRQ-funded; HS024525; HS024728.
Citation: Everson J, Funk RJ, Kaufman SR .
Repeated, close physician coronary artery bypass grafting teams associated with greater teamwork.
Health Serv Res 2018 Apr;53(2):1025-41. doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12703.
.
.
Keywords: Cardiovascular Conditions, Care Coordination, Communication, Surgery, Teams
Wehbe-Janek H, Pliego J, Sheather S
System-based interprofessional simulation-based training program increases awareness and use of rapid response teams.
The objective of this study was to develop and implement an interprofessional simulation-based training program for rapid response and cardiac arrest emergencies with emphasis on early recognition and effective communication. The researchers concluded that their study demonstrated that rapid response team underuse due to system barriers may be overcome by this type of program targeting specific needs of the institution.
AHRQ-funded; HS016634
Citation: Wehbe-Janek H, Pliego J, Sheather S .
System-based interprofessional simulation-based training program increases awareness and use of rapid response teams.
Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf. 2014 Jun;40(6):279-87..
Keywords: Critical Care, Cardiovascular Conditions, Simulation, Training, Communication