| January 12, 2021, Issue #747 Editor's note: AHRQ News Now will not publish next week.  Access more data on this topic in the associated statistical brief. HHS announced today that AHRQ has awarded 26 research grants to explore essential questions about the delivery of healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research projects will focus on areas such as the increased use of telehealth, best practices in rural care settings, emergency management in hospitals, addressing critical barriers to effective pandemic response in hospitals that care for vulnerable populations and improving clinician and patient safety. The grants also are intended to leverage innovations in digital healthcare research and ways healthcare delivery has been reshaped by the pandemic. Approximately $500,000 will be awarded for each of 14 new projects to study the healthcare system's COVID-19 response. In addition, supplemental funding ranging from $27,000 to $2.3 million will be awarded to 12 ongoing research projects that will be refocused on COVID-19 topics. AHRQ's total research investment is up to $17 million. Access more information about the grants and a news release. AHRQ's role in supporting healthcare excellence by advancing 21st-century care is the subject of a new blog post by former Director Gopal Khanna, M.B.A., who resigned Monday. The COVID-19 crisis has shown the United States is in desperate need of a focused, concerted effort to bring healthcare out of the brick-and-mortar models of delivery and into the digital age, according to Khanna. But new technologies and the increasing availability of healthcare data offer opportunities to significantly shrink shortcomings in quality and efficiency of care. AHRQ's current and future focus on core tenets—greater use of data, advances in primary care, improvements in patient safety and clinician well-being and an overall emphasis on whole-person care—will guide the agency's efforts to unlock the potential of 21st-century care for all Americans. Access the blog post. To receive all blog posts, submit your email address and select "AHRQ Views Blog." A new online resource from AHRQ gives researchers access for the first time to a family of data files on social determinants of health. The resource, which includes data organized by county and zip code, brings together linkable data files from the U.S. Census Bureau, the HHS/Health Resources and Services Administration, and more than a dozen additional data sources. The tool provides researchers, policymakers and others with detailed data on a wide range of county- and zip code-level population characteristics, such as income level, race, housing, educational attainment, public transportation use, military service, health insurance coverage, types of household computer availability and language use. The new resource, funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund, is currently in a beta, or test phase, and is expected to grow in upcoming months. AHRQ is asking users to send suggestions or comments to SDOH@ahrq.hhs.gov. Medicare's Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program has modified its readmission penalties framework to improve fairness for safety-net hospitals, but the changes may not sufficiently address risk factors that affect readmissions for hospitals serving the most vulnerable patients, according to an AHRQ-funded study published in Journal of General Internal Medicine. The authors examined 2000-2014 Medicare and community-level data for 20,255 hospitalizations at 441 hospitals. Their analysis allowed them to determine readmission rates and hospital penalties after adjusting for factors outside of hospitals' control, such as patients' health status and access to care. The study's findings suggest that the Medicare program's changes may not fully account for patient-level risk. Access the abstract. Registration is open for a webinar Jan. 21 from 2 to 3 p.m. ET on how to use the Surveys on Patient Safety Culture™ (SOPS®) Ambulatory Surgery Center (ASC) Survey to assess and improve patient safety. Speakers will present results from the 2020 survey database, discuss how to administer the survey and develop action plans for improvement. Speakers also will highlight the benefits of participating in the database. | AHRQ in the Professional Literature Measurement properties of three assessments of burden used in atopic dermatitis in adults. Patel KR, Singam V, Vakharia PP, et al. Br J Dermatol. 2019 May;180(5):1083-9. Epub 2018 Nov 12. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Racial/ethnic disparities/differences in hysterectomy route in women likely eligible for minimally invasive surgery. Pollack LM, Olsen MA, Gehlert SJ, et al. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2020 Jul-Aug;27(5):1167-77.e2. Epub 2019 Sep 10. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Estimating the impact of increasing cervical cancer screening in the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program among low-income women in the USA. Pollack LM, Ekwueme DU, Hung MC, et al. Cancer Causes Control. 2020 Jul;31(7):691-702. Epub 2020 May 20. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Development and initial validation of a measure of parents' preferences for behavioral counseling in primary care. Riley AR, Walker BL, Hall TA. Fam Syst Health. 2020 Jun;38(2):139-50. Epub 2020 Apr 16. Access the abstract on PubMed®. A controlled trial of dissemination and implementation of a cardiovascular risk reduction strategy in small primary care practices. Cykert S, Keyserling TC, Pignone M, et al. Health Serv Res. 2020 Dec;55(6):944-53. Epub 2020 Oct 13. Access the abstract on PubMed®. A multifaceted antimicrobial stewardship program for the treatment of uncomplicated cystitis in nursing home residents. Nace DA, Hanlon JT, Crnich CJ, et al. JAMA Intern Med. 2020 Jul;180(7):944-51. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Effect of a culturally adapted behavioral intervention for Latino adults on weight loss over 2 years: a randomized clinical trial. Rosas LG, Lv N, Xiao L, et al. JAMA Netw Open. 2020 Dec;3(12):e2027744. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Changes in health care-related financial burden for US families with children associated with the Affordable Care Act. Wisk LE, Peltz A, Galbraith AA. JAMA Pediatr. 2020 Nov;174(11):1032-40. Epub 2020 Sep 28. Access the abstract on PubMed®. Contact Information For comments or questions about AHRQ News Now, contact Bruce Seeman, (301) 427-1998 or Bruce.Seeman@ahrq.hhs.gov. |
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