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. DOR’s 600-plus staff is currently working on more than 580 epidemiological and health services research projects. Read our story or watch our video of how it all began and learn even more from our interactive anniversary timeline.

Better outcomes seen in people with severe aortic stenosis who have scheduled common valve procedure

New research from Kaiser Permanente finds patients who need an emergency transcatheter aortic valve replacement have greater risks.
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Doctors less likely to ask women about their drinking

Among patients who reported problem levels of drinking alcohol, women were less likely than men to have a conversation with their doctors about it, according to a study in the journal Addiction from Kaiser Permanent researchers.
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A decade of cultivating the next generation of delivery science researchers

Co-founded in 2012 by Richard W. Grant, MD, MPH, and Julie Schmittdiel, PhD, and funded by The Permanente Medical Group, the fellowship offers training and mentorship to junior investigators interested in research aimed at improving health care delivery.
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Widely used triage method overestimates severity of a quarter of emergency department patients

A Kaiser Permanente study looking at the application of the Emergency Severity Index — a method commonly used to triage emergency department patients — found some imprecision, suggesting there may be an opportunity for the ESI to be updated.
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Atrial fibrillation may increase risk for dementia

Large Kaiser Permanente study finds a 13% greater risk of being diagnosed with dementia after a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, with stronger associations seen in younger, healthier people.
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Neighborhood privilege tied to timing of girls’ puberty

New Kaiser Permanente study explores the ties between racial segregation and risk factors for early puberty in Black and Latinx girls.
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Healthy lifestyle behaviors took a hit during shelter-in-place in people with prediabetes

Kaiser Permanente study found that during the pandemic's shelter-in-place mandate it was harder for people with prediabetes to exercise and feel motivated to start or maintain healthy behaviors.
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5 Questions for . . . Betty Suh-Burgmann

Kaiser Permanente physician researcher Betty Suh-Burgmann established a new standardized approach for assessing ovarian cancer risk that prevents patients from having unnecessary surgery.
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Common HIV medication associated with improved COVID-19 outcomes

A medication used to treat HIV and to prevent at-risk people from contracting the virus may improve COVID-19 outcomes for both groups, according to research from Kaiser Permanente published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
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COVID-19 vaccination of mother during pregnancy protects infant, though protection wanes

Being vaccinated against COVID-19 during pregnancy provides protection for the baby through its first several months of life, a Kaiser Permanente analysis finds. Protection was stronger against the delta variant than the more recent omicron variant.
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