Kaiser Permanente
Division of Research Spotlight
The Kaiser Permanente Division of Research conducts, publishes, and disseminates epidemiologic and health services research to improve the health and medical care of Kaiser Permanente members and society at large. We seek to understand the determinants of illness and well-being, and to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of health care. Currently, DOR’s 550-plus staff is working on more than 350 epidemiological and health services research projects.
The number of women using cannabis in the year before they get pregnant and early in their pregnancies is increasing, and their frequency of use is also rising, according to new data from Kaiser Permanente.
“This research brings a large amount of data to bear on a basic question, and it gives such a clear answer,” said lead author Alexander C. Flint, MD, PhD, Kaiser Permanente stroke specialist and adjunct researcher with the Division of Research. “Every way you slice the data, the systolic and diastolic pressures are both important.”
A new machine learning algorithm developed by Kaiser Permanente researchers reveals the complexity of sepsis by sorting patients into recognizable treatment subgroups.
Kaiser Permanente researchers have developed a new analytical tool that identifies people at risk of contracting HIV so they may be referred for preventive medication.
Surgical patients given less opioids and more alternative methods of pain control were less likely to continue using opioids 6 months to a year later, an analysis by Kaiser Permanente Northern California researchers finds.
Erring on the side of caution, emergency physicians tend to order CT scans to evaluate appendicitis in children, “but research shows that we weren’t necessarily catching more appendicitis,” Dr. Cotton said. “CT scans are costly and expose children to ionizing radiation that can increase the risk of cancer. At the same time, emergency physicians do not want to miss an important diagnosis like appendicitis.”
A single, 45-minute “motivational interview” with two 20-minute follow-up phone calls may help people with HIV who report unhealthy drinking reduce their alcohol intake, say researchers at UC San Francisco and Kaiser Permanente.
Division of Research investigators participated in a multi-institution collaborative analysis, which supported the safety of current transfusion practice within Kaiser Permanente’s network of community hospitals.
Children who were up to date on their pertussis vaccine schedule were far less likely to develop the disease than those unvaccinated. The risk of vaccinated children becoming ill increased with time since vaccination, suggesting waning effectiveness.
Direct-acting antiviral agents used to treat patients with the hepatitis C virus are not associated with higher rates of adverse liver, kidney, and cardiovascular events, according to research published in JAMA Network Open and supported by data from Kaiser Permanente Northern California.
