April 2005 RAND Health Newsletter

Contents of April 2005 RAND Health newsletter:

1. Helping a Palestinian state succeed
   Creating a Palestinian state poses myriad political, economic, social, and environmental challenges. Overcoming these obstacles requires a comprehensive plan for nation-building and a design to meet the population's infrastructure needs.
   

   Citations:
   Building a Successful Palestinian State, The RAND Palestinian State Study Team, 2005
   Full Document | Research Brief

   The Arc: A Formal Structure for a Palestinian State, Doug Suisman, Steven Simon, Glenn Robinson, C. Ross Anthony and Michael Schoenbaum, 2005
   Full Document | Research Brief

   Helping a Palestinian State Succeed: Key Findings, The RAND Palestinian State Study Team, 2005
   Full Document

   More on the Palestine project | More on the Center for Public Health Systems and Preparedness | News release

2. Exemplary practices in public health preparedness
   Over the past three years, state and local health departments have undertaken a variety of activities and initiatives to improve their level of preparedness for bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. This report provides an overview of the methods and criteria used to select and nominate candidate practices for a repository of exemplary practices in public health preparedness.
   

   Citation: Exemplary Practices in Public Health Preparedness, Terri Tanielian, Karen Ricci, Michael A. Stoto, David J. Dausey, Lois M. Davis, Sarah Myers, Stuart Olmsted and Henry H. Willis, 2005, full document

   More on public health research

3. Weight loss surgery helps severely obese people lose more weight than diet and exercise
   A new study finds that severely obese people who undergo weight loss surgery typically lose about 45 to 65 pounds and maintain their lower weight for 10 years or longer. A related study reports that weight loss drugs promote moderate weight loss when prescribed along with recommendations for dieting and exercise among patients who are less severely overweight.
   

   Citations: Meta-Analysis: Surgical Treatment of Obesity, Maggard MA, Shugarman LR, Suttorp M, Maglione M, Sugarman HJ, Livingston EH, Nguyen NT, Zhaoping L, Mojica WA, Hilton L, Rhodes S, Morton SC, Shekelle PG. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 142, No. 7, April 5 2005, pp. 547-559, abstract

   Meta-Analysis: Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity, Li Z, Maglione M, Tu W, Mojica W, Arterburn D, Shugarman LR, Hilton L, Suttorp M, Solomon V, Shekelle PG, Morton SC. Annals of Internal Medicine, Vol. 142, No. 7, April 5 2005, pp. 532-546, abstract

   News release | More on obesity research

4. Assessing the value of healthcare information technology
   Over the last decade, many industries have increased productivity through information technology (IT) transformation. Can healthcare duplicate the IT-enabled gains seen in other industries?
   

   Citation: The Diffusion and Value of Healthcare Information Technology, Anthony G. Bower, 2005, full document

   More on health informatics and technology research

5. Prescription for a healthy nation
   America spends nearly twice as much for health care as any other nation. This new book explores why Americans are among the sickest people in the industrialized world.
   

   Citation: Prescription for a Healthy Nation: A New Approach to Improving Our Lives by Fixing Our Everyday World. Farley T, Cohen DA. Beacon Press, Boston MA, 320 pages

   Abstract and ordering information

6. April issue of RAND Health congressional newsletter
   This month's newsletter features the managed care backlash on enrollment in HMOs, how cardiologists view racial and ethnic disparities in care, and how poor neighborhoods are linked to poor health. (PDF file)
   

7. Recent Research Highlights and Fact Sheets from RAND Health
   
   

   Do Cardiologists Perceive Racial or Ethnic Disparities in the Treatment of Heart Patients?
   
   The Managed Care Backlash: Did Consumers Vote with Their Feet?

   
   
   
   

   Housekeeping

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