Marika Booth

Prior Removal and Recidivism

President Obama's executive action on immigration includes a new program that targets immigration enforcement at those arrested for more serious offenses and those deemed to be risks to national security. Research shows that unauthorized immigrants who have been previously deported are more likely to be rearrested after jail release, so local public safety interests and federal immigration enforcement priorities may well align around immigrants with a record of prior removal.

Journal Article

Evaluation of Phase II of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model Test: First Three Years of Implementation (2020–2022)

RAND researchers are conducting a multiyear evaluation of the VBID Model test using a mixed-methods approach that involves surveys, interviews, and quantitative analyses of the relationship between VBID implementation and a variety of outcomes.

Journal Article

Association of an Alcohol Abstinence Program With Mortality in Individuals Arrested for Driving While Alcohol Impaired

Individual-level analysis finds that among those arrested for driving under the influence, participation in 24/7 Sobriety reduces risk of death during study period—on the order of 50 percent.

Journal Article

Evaluation of Phase II of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model Test: First Two Years of Implementation (2020–2021), and Appendixes

This report presents the RAND Corporation team's findings from its evaluation of Phase II of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design model test, for the years 2020 and 2021.

Report

The Impact of Mindfulness Meditation Programs on Performance-Related Outcomes: Implications for the U.S. Army

This report presents results from a systematic review and meta-analyses of research examining how mindfulness meditation affects 13 performance-related outcomes of interest to the U.S. Army and broader military.

Journal Article

Assessing the State of Care for Huntington Disease in the United States: Results from a Survey of Practices Treating Huntington Disease Patients

The objective of this article is to obtain a clearer understanding of current care structure and delivery of care through a survey of representative US physicians treating HD patients.

Report

Clinical Interventions for Adults with Comorbid Alcohol Use and Depressive Disorders: A Systematic Review and Network Meta-Analysis

The authors synthesize evidence on the effects and compare the effectiveness of clinical interventions for improving symptoms of adults with co-occurring alcohol use and depressive disorders.

Journal Article

Evaluation Report of the First Three Years (2017-2019) of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model Test

CMMI contracted with the RAND Corporation to evaluate the first three years of the MA VBID model test. This report serves as our second and final evaluation of the first three years of the model test.

Journal Article

Using an Online Modified-Delphi Approach to Engage Patients and Caregivers in Determining the Patient-Centeredness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Care Considerations

Clinical guidelines that meet patient-centeredness criteria are likely to be consistent with the preferences, needs, and values of families dealing with Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Journal Article

Participant Experiences with a New Online Modified-Delphi Approach for Engaging Patients and Caregivers in Developing Clinical Guidelines

Participants were satisfied with an online approach to participating in guideline development.

Report

Gender Differences in Response to Alcohol Use Disorder Treatment: A Systematic Review

If men and women respond differently to treatments for alcohol use disorder, this would be important to consider in treatment selection. The authors of this systematic review sought to synthesize evidence for gender differences in treatment effects.

Journal Article

Manipulation and Mobilization for Treating Chronic Nonspecific Neck Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis for an Appropriateness Panel

The purpose of this systematic review was to evaluate the randomized controlled trials published from January 2000 through September 2017 on chronic nonspecific neck pain, comparing the effects of manipulation and/or mobilization as therapies to those of other active therapies (such as acupuncture, massage therapy, exercise, etc.) to sham or no treatment, and when combined with other therapies such as exercise or advice commonly seen in practice.

Journal Article

First Annual Evaluation Report of the Medicare Advantage Value-Based Insurance Design Model Test: 2017, Year 1 of the Intervention

RAND researchers are evaluating a five-year model test to assess whether value-based insurance design can increase use of high-value services, reduce use of avoidable services, improve quality of care, and improve health outcomes and reduce spending.

Journal Article

Elusive Search for Effective Provider Interventions: A Systematic Review of Provider Interventions to Increase Adherence to Evidence-Based Treatment for Depression

Low quality of evidence and lack of replication of specific intervention strategies across studies limit conclusions that can be drawn from the existing research about the effectiveness of interventions to improve adherence to antidepressant medications.

Report

Provider Interventions to Increase Uptake of Evidence-Based Treatment for Depression: A Systematic Review

This systematic review synthesizes evidence of health care provider interventions to promote evidence-based treatment of depression across provider groups, care settings, and patient health.

Journal Article

Lack of Preregistered Analysis Plans Allows Unacceptable Data Mining for and Selective Reporting of Consensus in Delphi Studies

A lack of standards and norms for defining and publicly registering analysis plans in advance threatens the credibility of using consensus-oriented Delphi processes to inform health research practice, and policy.

Journal Article

Benefits and Harms of Cranial Electrical Stimulation for Chronic Painful Conditions, Depression, Anxiety, and Insomnia: A Systematic Review

There is insufficient evidence that cranial electronic stimulation has clinically important effects on fibromyalgia, headache, neuromusculoskeletal pain, joint pain, depression, or insomnia; low-strength evidence suggests a modest benefit for anxiety and depression.

Journal Article

Manipulation and Mobilization for Treating Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Moderate-quality evidence suggests that manipulation and mobilization are likely to reduce pain and improve function for patients with chronic low back pain; manipulation appears to have the larger effect.

Journal Article

Building Capacity for Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI): A Pilot Study

We designed and tested the feasibility, effectiveness, and sustainability of CQI approaches in substance use disorder treatment settings

Journal Article

Mindfulness-based Relapse Prevention for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Across studies, our analyses did not indicate that MBRP has beneficial clinical effects beyond comparator interventions (such as relapse prevention, health education, CBT, andTAU) on substance use relapse.

Journal Article

Economic Evaluation of Quality Improvement Interventions Designed to Prevent Hospital Readmission: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Many interventions reduce hospital readmissions, but not all generate cost savings, and many readmissions are in the patients' best interests and not avoidable.

Journal Article

Relationship Between Provider Stigma and Predictors of Staff Turnover Among Addiction Treatment Providers

Addiction treatment providers are less likely to be satisfied with their work if they hold negative views towards patients with substance abuse disorders.

Journal Article

Association of Spinal Manipulative Therapy With Clinical Benefit and Harm for Acute Low Back Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

The use of spinal manipulative therapy to treat acute lower back pain was associated with modest improvement in pain and function in this systematic meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Report

Meditation for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of meditation interventions to provide estimates of their efficacy and safety in treating adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Journal Article

Comparative Analysis of Stakeholder Experience with an Online Approach to Prioritizing Patient-Centered Research Topics

Engaging diverse groups of stakeholders through online collaborative platforms is a promising and scalable approach to prioritizing patient-centered research topics.

Journal Article

Diagnosis of Gout: A Systematic Review in Support of an American College of Physicians Clinical Practice Guideline

Various clinical algorithms show promise for providing at least a provisional gout diagnosis in patients who present with signs of early-stage disease; such patients are most likely to be seen in primary, urgent, and emergency care settings.

Journal Article

Hyaluronic Acid Injection Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee: Concordant Efficacy and Conflicting Serious Adverse Events in Two Systematic Reviews

A lack of standards for reporting and synthesizing adverse events associated with common treatments can lead to conflicting conclusions about the balance of their benefits and harms.

Journal Article

Quality Improvement Interventions for Bloodstream Infections Related to Central Catheters: A Systematic Review

Interventions related to central venous catheters were, on average, associated with 57% fewer bloodstream infections among acute care patients and substantial savings to hospitals.

Journal Article

Meditation for Posttraumatic Stress: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of meditation interventions to provide estimates of their efficacy and safety in treating adults diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder.

Journal Article

A Systematic Review of St. John's Wort for Major Depressive Disorder

A systematic review evaluated the efficacy and safety of St. John's wort (SJW) in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) compared to placebo and active comparator and whether the effects vary by severity of MDD.

Journal Article

Acupuncture for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This systematic review aims to estimate the effects of acupuncture for adults with substance use disorders (SUDs).

Journal Article

Patient Engagement in the Process of Planning and Designing Outpatient Care Improvements at the Veterans Administration Health-care System: Findings from an Online Expert Panel

There is a strong interest in the Veterans Administration (VA) Health-care System in promoting patient engagement to improve patient care.

Journal Article

On Using Ethical Principles of Community-Engaged Research in Translational Science

The transfer of new discoveries into both clinical practice and the wider community calls for reliance on interdisciplinary translational teams that include researchers with different areas of expertise.

Journal Article

Mental Health Conditions Among Patients Seeking and Undergoing Bariatric Surgery: A Meta-Analysis

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of mental health conditions among bariatric surgery candidates and recipients.

Report

Omega-3 Fatty Acids for Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of omega-3 fatty acids to provide estimates of their efficacy and safety in treating major depressive disorder.

Report

St. John's Wort for Major Depressive Disorder: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of St. Johns wort to provide estimates of its efficacy and safety in treating major depressive disorder.

Journal Article

Systematic Review of School-Based Interventions to Prevent Smoking for Girls

The purpose of this review is to study the effect of school-based interventions on smoking prevention for girls.

Report

Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBRP) to provide estimates of its efficacy and safety for treating substance use disorders.

Report

Needle Acupuncture for Substance Use Disorders: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of needle acupuncture to provide estimates of its efficacy and safety for treating substance use disorders.

Journal Article

Wrong-site Surgery, Retained Surgical Items, and Surgical Fires: A Systematic Review of Surgical Never Events

Serious, preventable surgical events, termed never events, continue to occur despite considerable patient safety efforts.

Journal Article

Provision of Mental Health Services as a Quality Indicator for Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities

The study tested whether adolescents receiving substance abuse treatment at facilities offering full or partial mental health services have better 12-month substance use and mental health outcomes than youths at facilities with no mental health services.

Journal Article

Is Previous Removal from the United States a Marker for High Recidivism Risk? Results from a 9-Year Follow-Up Study of Criminally Involved Unauthorized Immigrants

The present study examines the long-term recidivism patterns of a group of unauthorized immigrants identified to be at high risk of recidivism.

Journal Article

Assessing the Generalizability of the CSAT-sponsored GAIN Dataset: Are the CSAT Sites Representative of Adolescent Treatment Programs in the U.S.?

CSAT-funded programs had higher rates of comprehensive mental health assessments, discharge planning, HIV, STD and TB testing, and HIV/AIDS education and support.

Journal Article

Comparative Effectiveness of Pharmacologic Treatments to Prevent Fractures: An Updated Systematic Review

Osteoporosis is a major contributor to the propensity to fracture among older adults, and various pharmaceuticals are available to treat it.

Journal Article

Symptom Persistence in a Community Cohort of Women with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome (IC/BPS): 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-Month Follow-Up from the RICE Cohort

The purpose of this study was to determine whether symptoms persist among a population-based sample of women.

Journal Article

Evidence Map of Acupuncture

Given the VA's desire to promote evidence-based practice, this evidence mapping project will help provide guidance to VA leadership about the distribution of evidence to inform policy and clinical decision making.

Journal Article

Sleep Disturbances and Nocturnal Symptoms: Relationships with Quality of Life in a Population-Based Sample of Women with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome

Sleep problems make life for women with interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome even more uncomfortable.

Journal Article

Risk of Bias: A Simulation Study of Power to Detect Study-Level Moderator Effects in Meta-Analysis

Although study characteristics, such as trial quality, may explain some proportion of heterogeneity across study results in meta-analyses, residual heterogeneity is a crucial factor in determining when associations between moderator variables and effect sizes can be statistically detected.

Journal Article

Health-related Quality of Life in Patients with Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and Frequently Associated Comorbidities

In patients with IC/BPS, the presence of FM, CFS, and IBS has a significant association with HRQOL, equivalent in impact to the bladder symptoms themselves.

Journal Article

Hospital Fall Prevention: A Systematic Review of Implementation, Components, Adherence, and Effectiveness

Better reporting of outcomes, implementation, adherence, intervention components, and comparison group information is necessary to establish evidence on how hospitals can successfully prevent falls.

Journal Article

The Prevalence and Overlap of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome in Men: Results of the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology Male Study

As part of the RICE (RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology) study, we developed validated case definitions to identify interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome in women and chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome in men.

Journal Article

Temporal Ordering of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and Non-Bladder Conditions

The authors examine the prevalence and timing of nonbladder conditions in a community cohort of women with symptoms of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome (IC/BPS).

Journal Article

Validation of a Quality-of-Life Scale for Women with Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis

The RICE BSI-6 shows excellent internal consistency and strong convergent validity.

Draft

The Prevalence and Overlap of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome in Men: Results of the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology (RICE) Male Study: Supplementary Table

Supplementary table for the article ''The Prevalence and Overlap of Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome and Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome in Men: Results of the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology Male Study.''

Journal Article

Comparison of an Interstitial Cystitis/Bladder Pain Syndrome Clinical Cohort with Symptomatic Community Women from the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology Study

The RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology survey estimated that 2.7% to 6.5% of United States women have urinary symptoms consistent with a diagnosis of interstitial cystitis/bladder pain syndrome.

Journal Article

Assessing the Sensitivity of Treatment Effect Estimates to Differential Follow-Up Rates: Implications for Translational Research

The authors developed a new tool for assessing the sensitivity of findings on treatment effectiveness to differential follow-up rates in the two treatment conditions being compared.

Journal Article

Detection of Associations Between Trial Quality and Effect Sizes

The amount of additional heterogeneity in effect sizes is a crucial factor in determining when associations between quality and effect sizes can be detected.

Journal Article

Epidemiological Model for Examining Marijuana Use Over the Life Course

Trajectories of drug use are usually studied empirically by following over time persons sampled from either the general population (most often youth and young adults) or from heavy or problematic users (e.g., arrestees or those in treatment).

Journal Article

The Effectiveness of Community-Based Delivery of an Evidence-Based Treatment for Adolescent Substance Use

This study evaluates the effectiveness of motivational enhancement therapy/cognitive behavioral therapy–5 (MET/CBT-5) when delivered in community practice settings relative to standard community-based adolescent treatment.

Journal Article

Off-label Use of Atypical Antipsychotics: An Update

The authors performed a systematic review on the efficacy and safety of atypical antipsychotic drugs for use in conditions lacking FDA approval.

Journal Article

Efficacy and Comparative Effectiveness of Atypical Antipsychotic Medications for Off-Label Uses in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

A systematic review on the efficacy and safety of atypical antipsychotic medications for use in conditions lacking approval for labeling and marketing by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Research Brief

Preventing Obesity and Its Consequences: Highlights of RAND Health Research

Summarizes key RAND studies on the causes of obesity, its economic and health consequences, and potential strategies for prevention, including work on health care costs, junk food, food deserts, school meals, and proximity of parks.

Journal Article

Prevalence of Symptoms of Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis Among Adult Females in the United States

Bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis symptoms are widespread among United States women and associated with considerable disability. Bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis may be underdiagnosed.

Draft

Development, Validation and Testing of an Epidemiological Case Definition of Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome: Supplementary Tables

Supplementary tables for the article ''Development, Validation and Testing of an Epidemiological Case Definition of Interstitial Cystitis/painful Bladder Syndrome'' (EP-20100091) published in The Journal of Urology, v. 183, no. 5, May 2010, p. 1848-1852.

Journal Article

Empirical Evidence of Associations Between Trial Quality and Effect Size

Examines the empirical evidence for associations between a set of proposed quality criteria and estimates of effect sizes in randomized controlled trials across a variety of clinical fields and to explore variables potentially influencing the association.

Journal Article

Depression and Medication Adherence in the Treatment of Chronic Diseases in the United States: A Meta-Analysis

This analysis provides evidence that depression is associated with poor adherence to medication across a range of chronic diseases.

Journal Article

Depressive Disorders and Panic Attacks in Women with Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis: A Population-Based Sample

Clinicians should be alert to complaints of bladder pain in patients seeking treatment for depressive or anxiety disorders and to complaints of emotional or personal problems in patients seeking treatment for painful bladder symptoms.

Journal Article

Identifying Continuous Quality Improvement Publications: What Makes an Improvement Intervention 'CQI'?

Continuous quality improvement (CQI) refers to a method for improving care, but no consensus definition exists. As a step toward improving CQI evidence reviews, this study identified CQI definitional features and tested an instrument for identifying articles with key features.

Journal Article

Prevalence and Correlates of Sexual Dysfunction Among Women with Bladder Pain Syndrome/Interstitial Cystitis

Nearly 90% of women with bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis report sexual dysfunction and reduced quality of life.

Journal Article

Safety of Probiotics to Reduce Risk and Prevent or Treat Disease

The existing scientific literature does not adequately address questions about the safety of probiotics.

Journal Article

Using a Cross-Study Design to Assess the Efficacy of Motivational Enhancement Therapy-Cognitive Behavioral Therapy 5 (MET/CBT5) in Treating Adolescents with Cannabis-Related Disorders

Youth with marijuana problems who received a research-based treatment (motivational enhancement therapy plus cognitive behavioral therapy [MET/CBT5]) had better outcomes than similar youth treated in community-based programs.

Draft

Prevalence, Natural History, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Food Allergy: A Systematic Review of the Evidence

Reviews the available evidence on the prevalence, diagnosis, management, and prevention of food allergies.

Journal Article

Identifying Quality Improvement Intervention Evaluations: Is Consensus Achievable?

The variety of quality improvement interventions has impeded the use of evidence review to advance quality improvement activities. Addressing this problem will require development of a generalizable framework for identifying evaluations of quality improvement initiatives.

Research Brief

Diagnosing and Treating Food Allergies: The State of the Research

A systematic review of food allergy research found that the prevalence of food allergy in the United States appears to be between 1 and 10 percent, but estimates remain questionable because of poor reliability of the tests used for allergy diagnosis.

Journal Article

Meta-analysis: Effect of Interactive Communication Between Collaborating Primary Care Physicians and Specialists

Assesses the effects of interactive communication between collaborating primary care physicians and key specialists on outcomes for patients receiving ambulatory care.

Journal Article

The Recidivism Patterns of Previously Deported Aliens Released from a Local Jail: Are They High-Risk Offenders?

Relative to similarly situated deportable aliens with no record of deportation, previously deported aliens are more likely to be rearrested, to be rearrested more quickly, and to be rearrested more frequently in a one-year follow-up period.

Journal Article

Development, Validation and Testing of an Epidemiological Case Definition of Interstitial Cystitis/Painful Bladder Syndrome

For prevalence studies of interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome, the best approach may be to use two definitions of the syndrome that yield a range. Case definitions developed in the RAND Interstitial Cystitis Epidemiology study can be used for this purpose.

Journal Article

Diagnosing and Managing Common Food Allergies: A Systematic Review

This systematic review of scientific knowledge on food allergies found that evidence for the prevalence and management of food allergy is limited by a lack of uniform criteria for making a diagnosis.

Journal Article

Diagnosis, Microbial Epidemiology, and Antibiotic Treatment of Acute Otitis Media in Children: A Systematic Review

Antibiotics are modestly more effective than no treatment for acute otitis media but cause adverse effects in 4% to 10% of children.

Journal Article

Meta-analysis: Effect of Interactive Communication Between Collaborating Primary Care Physicians and Specialists

Assesses the effects of interactive communication between collaborating primary care physicians and key specialists on outcomes for patients receiving ambulatory care.

Journal Article

Outcomes of Intravesical Botulinum Toxin for Idiopathic Overactive Bladder Symptoms: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Intravesical injection of botulinum toxin helps to manage overactive bladder symptoms in both men and women.

Journal Article

Meeting Family and Military Needs Through Military Child Care

This article summarizes results from a child care survey of military families conducted by the RAND Corporation in 2004 and draws policy implications for the military child care system.

Journal Article

Off-label Prescribing to Children in the United States Outpatient Setting

The aim of this study was to determine the frequency of off-label prescribing to children at United States outpatient visits and to determine how drug class, patient age, and physician specialty relate to off-label prescribing.

Journal Article

Pregnancy and Fertility Following Bariatric Surgery: A Systematic Review

Rates of many adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes may be lower in women who become pregnant after having had bariatric surgery compared with rates in pregnant women who are obese; however, further data are needed from rigorously designed studies.

Journal Article

Are Deportable Aliens a Unique Threat to Public Safety? Comparing the Recidivism of Deportable and Nondeportable Aliens

The study compared the recidivism of 517 deportable and 780 nondeportable aliens released from the Los Angeles County Jail over a 30-day period in 2002.

Journal Article

Determinants of Health Insurance Status for Children of Latino Immigrant and Other US Farm Workers: Findings from the National Agricultural Workers Survey

Thirty-two percent of all farm-worker parents reported that their children were uninsured. Programs that extend insurance coverage for children should consider the unique social barriers that characterize this vulnerable population of U.S. children.

Journal Article

Psychosocial Correlates of Unprotected Sex Without Disclosure of HIV-positivity Among African-American, Latino, and White Men Who Have Sex with Men and Women

Examines psychosocial correlates of unprotected sex without disclosure of HIV status among men who have sex with men and women, including relationships of race/ethnicity and psychosocial variables to unprotected sex without disclosure of HIV status.

Journal Article

Systematic Review: Comparative Effectiveness of Treatments to Prevent Fractures in Men and Women with Low Bone Density or Osteoporosis

Compares the benefits in fracture reduction and the harms from adverse events of various therapies for osteoporosis.

Journal Article

Efficacy and Comparative Effectiveness of Off-Label Use of Atypical Antipsychotics: Executive Summary

Aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, risperidone, and ziprasidone are FDA approved antipsychotics for treatment of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder

Report

Examining Child Care Need Among Military Families

Describes and analyzes the results of a 2004 military family survey of child care need and child care choices, defining outcomes of potential interest to DoD and their effect on readiness and retention.

Journal Article

Drug Class Review on Angiotensin II Receptor Antagonists: Final Report

The DERP project produces systematic literature reviews of drug classes.

Journal Article

Drug Class Review on Antiepileptic Drugs in Bipolar Mood Disorder, Neuropathic Pain, and Fibromyalgia: Final Report

Compare the effectiveness and adverse event profiles of AEDs in the treatment of bipolar mood disorder, neuropathic pain, and fibromyalgia.

Journal Article

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cancer Risk: A Systematic Review

Omega-3 fatty acids are purported to reduce the risk of cancer. Studies have reported mixed results.

Research Brief

Some Prescription Diet Drugs Promote Weight Loss

To assess the effectiveness and safety of prescription weight-loss medications, researchers at the Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center analyzed 78 published studies of the most popular diet drugs.

Research Brief

Weight Loss Surgery Is More Effective Than Diet and Exercise in Helping Severely Obese People Lose Weight

With a reported rise in the number of procedures -- and complications -- researchers at the Southern California Evidence-Based Practice Center examined the effectiveness and risks of weight loss surgery by analyzing nearly 150 published studies.

Research Brief

Analyzing — and Influencing — How the VA Allocates Its Health Care Dollars

In 2000, the Veterans Health Administration (VA) asked the RAND Corporation to conduct a study to assess whether the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) was shortchanging some areas of the country and some veterans with special health care needs.

Report

The Role of Districts in Fostering Instructional Improvement: Lessons from Three Urban Districts Partnered with the Institute for Learning

Analyzes three urban school districts' efforts to improve the instructional quality and performance of their schools and assesses the contribution to those efforts made by an intermediary organization, the Institute for Learning.

Journal Article

Challenges in Systematic Reviews of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Topics

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) continues to grow in the United States.

Journal Article

Combination Endoscopic Band Ligation and Sclerotherapy Compared with Endoscopic Band Ligation Alone for the Secondary Prophylaxis of Esophageal Variceal Hemorrhage: A Meta-Analysis

Endoscopic band ligation (EBL) is the community-accepted standard therapy for the secondary prophylaxis of esophageal variceal hemorrhage.

Journal Article

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cancer

The authors assess the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on 1) tumor incidence 2) clinical outcomes after cancer treatment, and 3) tumor behavior.

Journal Article

Meta-analysis: Pharmacologic Treatment of Obesity

In response to the increase in obesity, pharmacologic treatments for weight loss have become more numerous and more commonly used.

Journal Article

Meta-analysis: Chronic Disease Self-Management Programs for Older Adults

Authors assess the effectiveness and essential components of self-management programs for hypertension, osteoarthritis, and diabetes mellitus.

Journal Article

Meta-analysis: Surgical Treatment of Obesity

Controversy exists regarding the effectiveness of surgery for weight loss and the resulting improvement in health-related outcomes.

Report

Understanding Potential Changes to the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) System: A Regression-Based Approach

This analysis determines how particular patient and facility characteristics influence Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) system allocations to the Department of Veterans Affairs regional service networks and simplifies and refines the models created in earlier RAND research to reflect policy changes and more recent data.

Research Brief

Advancing Systemwide Instructional Reform: Lessons from Three Urban Districts Partnered with the Institute for Learning

This research brief describes work documented in The Role of Districts in Fostering Instructional Improvement: Lessons from Three Urban Districts Partnered with the Institute for Learning (MG-361-EDU).

Journal Article

Effect of Supplemental Vitamin E for the Prevention and Treatment of Cardiovascular Disease

There is good evidence that vitamin E supplementation does not beneficially or adversely affect cardiovascular outcomes.

Journal Article

Interventions for the Prevention of Falls in Older Adults: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomised Clinical Trials

To assess the relative effectiveness of interventions to prevent falls in older adults to either a usual care group or control group.

Journal Article

Meta-regression Approaches: What, Why, When, and How?

Compare and contrast via simulation five meta-regression approaches that model the heterogeneity among study treatment effects.

Journal Article

Pharmacological and Surgical Treatment of Obesity

Sibutramine, orlistat, phentermine, diethylpropion (probably), bupropion, fluoxetine, and topiramate all promote weight loss.

Journal Article

Smoking-cessation Interventions by Type of Provider: A Meta-Analysis

To synthesize the evidence on the effectiveness of smoking-cessation interventions by type of provider.

Journal Article

Ephedra and Ephedrine for Weight Loss and Athletic Performance Enhancement: Clinical Efficacy and Side Effects

This research addresses questions regarding the safety and efficacy of herbal ephedra and ephedrine for weight loss and athletic performance through a comprehensive literature review and synthesis of evidence.

Report

An Analysis of Potential Adjustments to the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) System

This analysis provides a tool that Veterans Administration policymakers can use for making resource allocation decisions for the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation System (VERA) and that can also be used for a wide range of simulations as well as for

Report

Chronic Disease Self Management for Diabetes, Osteoarthritis, Post-Myocardial Infarction Care, and Hypertension

Investigates the characteristics particular to chronic disease self-management programs that may be most responsible for their effectiveness.

Journal Article

Efficacy and Safety of Ephedra and Ephedrine for Weight Loss and Athletic Performance: A Meta-Analysis

Ephedra and ephedrine sometimes are used for weight loss or enhanced athletic performance, but efficacy and safety of these compounds are uncertain.

Research Brief

Ephedra: Is It Worth the Risk?

Products that contain the herb ephedra have been promoted and used in the United States since the 1980s to increase weight loss and enhance athletic performance. Yet despite manufacturers' claims, little research has been done to assess whether the products are safe, and the research studies that have been done have been too small to allow any firm conclusions to be drawn.

Testimony

Ephedra: Is It Worth the Risk?

Testimony submitted for the record by the authors for the New York State Senate Committee on Consumer Protection on May 30, 2003.

Report

Exercise Programs for Older Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Reports the results of a systematic review and meta-analysis of controlled clinical trials of the effects of exercise on health and related outcomes for seniors.

Report

Falls Prevention Interventions in the Medicare Population

Reviews the effectiveness of interventions that can be used to prevent falls among persons age 65 or older.

Journal Article

Pharmacologic Management of Heart Failure and Left Ventricular Systolic Dysfunction: Effect in Female, Black, and Diabetic Patients, and Cost-Effectiveness

The basis for this report is formed from clinical and policy questions about heart failure mortality benefits and subpopulations.

Journal Article

Spinal Manipulative Therapy for Low Back Pain: A Meta-Analysis of Effectiveness Relative to Other Therapies

There is no evidence that spinal manipulative therapy is superior to other standard treatments for patients with acute or chronic low back pain.

Journal Article

S-adenosyl-L-methionine for Treatment of Depression, Osteoarthritis, and Liver Disease

What study reports were available on the use of SAMe for depression, ostheoarthritis, and liver disease?

Report

RAND Statewide CalWORKS Evaluation Welfare Reform in California: Design of the Impact Analysis: Preliminary Investigations of Caseload Data

RAND Statewide CalWORKS Evaluation Welfare Reform in California: Design of the Impact Analysis: Preliminary Investigations of Caseload Data