Sydne J. Newberry

Do We Know How to Treat Alcohol Misuse in Women?

Despite the many clinical trials that have demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of treatments for alcohol use disorder, we still know little about whether men and women respond differently to treatment. Without knowing whether recommended treatments are effective for women, women are vulnerable to the consequences of alcohol misuse.

What's in a Name? Calling Obesity a Disease Could Help Improve Chronic Disease Outcomes

The American Medical Association officially designated obesity as a disease, hoping to help change the way doctors approach the issue with their patients, increase funding for research on effective treatments, spur insurers to cover prescription weight loss medications, and maybe even help de-stigmatize the condition.

Report

Incorporating Environmental Considerations into Defense Acquisition Practices

RAND researchers assess the knowledge, tools, and capabilities needed by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) acquisition workforce to infuse environmental considerations into DoD requirements, acquisition, and resource allocation decisionmaking.

Report

Improving Integration and Synchronization of Space Acquisition and Fielding

The authors of this research explored ways the United States Space Force can facilitate the integration and synchronization of space acquisition and fielding to support the delivery of end-to-end space capabilities to outpace adversary threats.

Report

Ensuring Mission Assurance While Conducting Rapid Space Acquisition

The authors of this report examine what streamlining techniques are being used to accelerate U.S. Space Force acquisition, the risks associated with those techniques, their potential impact on mission assurance, and the possible mitigations.

Report

A Scoping Review of Guidelines and Quality Measures to Screen for Social and Caregiver Support and Cognitive Impairment in Primary Care

The authors conduct a review to identify measures, guidelines, and tools that (1) assess social support, the need for caregiver support, and the need for referral to social services and (2) screen for cognitive impairment among high-risk patients.

Report

Managing Urinary Incontinence for Women in Primary Care: Environmental Scan (Base Year)

The authors of this report present an environmental scan of studies that assess the dissemination and implementation of nonsurgical urinary incontinence treatments for women in primary care.

Report

Using Metrics to Understand the Performance of the Adaptive Acquisition Framework

The authors of this report identify initial metrics that the U.S. Department of Defense can use to assess whether pathways in the Adaptive Acquisition Framework are achieving their goals.

Report

Exploring the Civil-Military Divide over Artificial Intelligence

This report presents the results of a survey of software engineers and other technical staff to learn their views toward the defense community and their willingness to contribute to artificial intelligence projects for the U.S. Department of Defense.

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.

Report

A Clean Sheet Approach to Space Acquisition in Light of the New Space Force

The authors describe an unconstrained "clean sheet" approach to space acquisition for the U.S. Space Force designed around the unique mission and calling of the new service.

Report

Tailoring Medical Standards for Air Force Personnel

To serve in the U.S. military, individuals must meet medical standards to ensure that they are fit to serve. The authors explore the implications to U.S. Air Force culture of tailoring such standards to expand or limit the pool of qualified personnel.

Research Brief

The Department of Defense's Posture for Artificial Intelligence: Assessment and Recommendations for Improvement

In this report, RAND Corporation researchers assess the state of artificial intelligence relevant to the U.S. Department of Defense and provide recommendations for the future of the department's artificial intelligence posture.

Report

Issues with Access to Acquisition Information in the Department of Defense: A Series on Considerations for Managing Program Data in the Emerging Acquisition Environment

This research identifies and describes some of the issues related to managing acquisition program information in the emerging acquisition environment resulting from statutory changes within the Department of Defense acquisition community.

Report

The Department of Defense Posture for Artificial Intelligence: Assessment and Recommendations

In this report, the authors assess the state of artificial intelligence (AI) relevant to DoD, conduct an independent assessment of the Department of Defense's posture in AI, and put forth a set of recommendations to enhance that posture.

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.

Report

Assessing Department of Defense Use of Data Analytics and Enabling Data Management to Improve Acquisition Outcomes

Congress asked about acquisition data analytics in the Department of Defense. This report identifies and measures capabilities and recent progress. Barriers to improvement include a culture against data sharing due to security and burden concerns.

Research Brief

Assessing the Use of Data Analytics in Department of Defense Acquisition

This research brief addresses congressional concerns about the use of data analysis, measurement, and other evaluation-related methods in U.S. Department of Defense acquisition programs and decisionmaking.

Report

Profile of Institutional Review Board Characteristics Prior to the 2019 Implementation of the Revised Common Rule

This report details the results of a survey of institutional research boards (IRBs) to obtain baseline information on their demographics and their attitudes about their IRBs and the likely effects of proposed changes to the Revised Common Rule.

Journal Article

Effects of Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) for Opioid Use Disorder on Functional Outcomes: A Systematic Review

A weak evidence base prevents strong conclusions about the effects of Medication Assisted Treatment for opioid use disorder on functional outcomes.

Journal Article

Machine Learning Versus Standard Techniques for Updating Searches for Systematic Reviews: A Diagnostic Accuracy Study

Machine-learning methods can help decrease the effort involved in updating searches for systematic reviews.

Report

Mindfulness Meditation for the Treatment of Tobacco Use: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of mindfulness meditation interventions to provide estimates of their efficacy and safety for treating tobacco use.

Journal Article

Efficacy of Mindfulness Meditation for Smoking Cessation: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This review synthesizes randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of mindfulness meditation (MM) interventions for smoking cessation.

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

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

This systematic review found strong evidence for using colchicine, NSAIDs, and corticosteroids to relieve symptoms of acute gout attacks.

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

Calcium Intake and Cardiovascular Disease Risk: An Updated Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Calcium intake from foods or supplements at levels within recommended ranges is not associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease among healthy adults.

Journal Article

Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Chronic pain patients increasingly seek treatment through mindfulness meditation. This study aims to synthesize evidence on efficacy and safety of mindfulness meditation interventions for the treatment of chronic pain in adults.

Report

Mindfulness Meditation for Chronic Pain: A Systematic Review

RAND researchers conducted a systematic review that synthesized evidence from trials of mindfulness meditation interventions to provide estimates of their efficacy and safety in alleviating chronic pain.

Journal Article

Twelve Recommendations for Integrating Existing Systematic Reviews Into New Reviews: EPC Guidance

As time and cost constraints in the conduct of systematic reviews increase, the need to consider the use of existing systematic reviews also increases. We developed guidance on the integration of systematic reviews into new reviews.

Journal Article

Diagnosis of Celiac Disease

This document summarizes results of a systematic review of tests used to diagnose celiac disease.

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.

Research Brief

Incentives for Workplace Wellness Programs: They Increase Employee Participation, but Building a Better Program Is Just as Effective

Presents information on the landscape of wellness programs, use of incentives, and their effect on participation, drawn from the first study on this topic to be based on national survey data.

Report

Workplace Wellness Programs: Services Offered, Participation, and Incentives

This report leverages existing data on wellness programs to explore patterns of wellness program availability, employers' use of incentives, and program participation and utilization among employees.

Report

Quantitative Evaluation of the Impact of the Healthy Communities Initiative in Cincinnati

In 2009, a Cincinnati group launched the Healthy Communities Initiative with the goals of improving health care and population health while reducing health care costs. In 2012, RAND Health Advisory Services assessed the Initiative's progress.

Report

The Role of Health Care Transformation for the Chinese Dream: Powering Economic Growth, Promoting a Harmonious Society

RAND researchers recommend that China should create an innovative health care delivery model based on population health management principles and sophisticated health information technology, rather than copy existing Western models.

Research Brief

U.S. Vaccines Deemed Extremely Safe, with Serious Side Effects Rare Among Children

RAND researchers systematically reviewed scientific studies on routine vaccines recommended for children age 6 and younger in the United States and found that vaccines are very safe overall, and serious side effects are extremely rare.

Journal Article

Safety of Vaccines Used for Routine Immunization of US Children: A Systematic Review

This study systematically reviewed the literature on the safety of routine vaccines recommended for children in the United States.

Journal Article

Safety of Vaccines Used for Routine Immunization in the United States

This report conducts a systematic review of the literature on the safety of vaccines recommended for routine immunization of children, adolescents, and adults in the United States.

Journal Article

Assessment of a Method to Detect Signals for Updating Systematic Reviews

Systematic reviews are a cornerstone of evidence-based medicine but are useful only if up-to-date.

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

A Proposed Approach May Help Systematic Reviews Retain Needed Expertise While Minimizing Bias from Nonfinancial Conflicts of Interest

We sought to create practical guidance on ensuring adequate clinical or content expertise while maintaining independence of judgment on systematic review teams.

Journal Article

A Surveillance System to Assess the Need for Updating Systematic Reviews

This report describes the development and initial results of a surveillance system to assess produced by the Agency for Research and Quality (AHRQ) Evidence-based Practice Center (EPC) Program.

Journal Article

Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices

The goal of this project was to conduct a systematic literature review evaluating the evidence for a large number of patient safety practices.

Journal Article

Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices : Executive Summary

The authors review patient safety practices for evidence of effectiveness, implementation, and adoption.

Journal Article

A Pilot Study Using Machine Learning and Domain Knowledge to Facilitate Comparative Effectiveness Review Updating

Comparative effectiveness and systematic reviews require frequent and time-consuming updating. Results of earlier screening should be useful in reducing the effort needed to screen relevant articles.

Journal Article

Surveillance and Identification of Signals for Updating Systematic Reviews: Implementation and Early Experience

The question of how to determine when a systematic review needs to be updated is of considerable importance. Developing and implementing a surveillance process for quickly identifying Comparative Effectiveness Reviews (CERs) in need of updating.

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

A Pilot Study Using Machine Learning and Domain Knowledge to Facilitate Comparative Effectiveness Review Updating

Comparative effectiveness reviews need to be updated frequently to maintain their relevance.

Journal Article

Probiotics for the Prevention and Treatment of Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Evidence suggests that probiotics are associated with a reduction in antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD).

Journal Article

What Is the Evidence That Vitamin C Supplements Lower Blood Pressure?

This editorial uses a recent meta-analysis on the effects of vitamin C on blood pressure to highlight pitfalls in nutrition research design.

Draft

Review of the Evidence on Falls Prevention in Hospitals: Task 4 Final Report

Reviews and documents the existing evidence base for interventions to prevent falls in hospitals, provides an overview of the performance of existing tools with known measurement properties, and compiles available online resources.

Report

Multicomponent Dietary Supplements for the Military

An expert panel considered issues pertaining to the development, assessment, and regulation of multicomponent dietary supplements for the military to enhance performance and promote health.

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.

Report

Regulation of Dietary Supplements in the Military: Report of an Expert Panel

Considers regulation of dietary supplement use in the military and comparable civilian organizations, policies regulating purchase of dietary supplements, and issues to be considered in crafting military policies about supplement use and education.

Draft

Review of the Current Literature on Outcome Measures Applicable to the Medicare Population for Use in a Quality Improvement Program: Project Deliverable 2a, 2b

Reviews measures that have been used to assess quality improvement programs in Medicare or equivalent populations.

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.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 34, No. 2, Summer 2010

Features discuss retirement patterns of baby boomers, marijuana legalization, drug enforcement in Europe, and No Child Left Behind; news items cover the Gulf coast, food allergies, the U.S. health reform law, police benefits, and Pakistani militants.

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.

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

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

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.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring 2008

The cover story compares neonatal services across the United Kingdom, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Sweden; other features discuss water resources management, U.S. policies in Asia, and political polarization.

Research Brief

Modeling the Health and Medical Care Spending of the Future Elderly

This research brief summarizes studies showing that medical innovations will improve health and extend life but will likely increase Medicare spending; eliminating obesity and better prevention could save Medicare money and improve health.

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.

Periodical

RAND Review: Vol. 31, No. 2, Summer 2007

Feature stories discuss the precarious posture taken by the world toward Afghanistan, lessons for the U.S. National Guard from Hurricane Katrina, and competing claims stoked by the RAND Health Insurance Experiment.

Journal Article

Antiretroviral (ARV) Drug Resistance in the Developing World

Describes prevalence of antiretroviral resistance in the developing world, focusing on treatment naive populations, resistance consequences of regimes to prevent mother-to-child transmission, and the relationship of medication adherence to resistance.

Journal Article

A Review of Methods to Measure Health-Related Productivity Loss

Annual US health-related productivity losses are estimated to reach some $260 billion, attributable not only to absenteeism but also to presenteeism.

Journal Article

Systematic Review of the Effects of N-3 Fatty Acids in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

n-3 Fatty acids are purported to have health effects in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), but studies have reported mixed results.

Journal Article

Cancer Care Quality Measures: Symptoms and End-of-Life Care

Basic research is urgently needed to address measurement in populations with impaired self-report.

Journal Article

Costs and Benefits of Health Information Technology

Health Information Technology has the potential to enable a dramatic transformation in the delivery of health care, making it safer, more effective, and more efficient.

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.

Journal Article

The Efficacy of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cognitive Function in Aging and Dementia: A Systematic Review

Effects of omega-3 fatty acids on measures of cognitive function in normal aging, incidence and treatment of dementia.

Journal Article

Omega-3 Fatty Acids and Cancer Risk

Letter to the editor and response by the authors regarding their systematic review and assessment of the effects of omega-3 fatty acids on cancer risk

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.

Research Brief

Future Health and Medical Care Spending of the Elderly: Implications for Medicare

A team of economists and physicians explored how changes in medical technology, disease, and disability would affect health care spending for the population age 65 and older.

Journal Article

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Lipids and Glycemic Control in Type II Diabetes and the Metabolic Syndrome and on Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Renal Disease, Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, and Osteoporosis

The evidence for effects of omega-3 fatty acids on outcomes in the conditions assessed varies greatly. Omega-3 fatty acids appear to reduce serum triglycerides among type II diabetics, but have no effect on total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, and LDL cholesterol.

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

Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Cognitive Function with Aging, Dementia, and Neurological Diseases

Assess the effect of omega-3 fatty acids on cognitive function in normal aging, incidence and treatment of dementia, incidence of several neurological diseases, and clinical outcomes related to the progression of multiple sclerosis.

Journal Article

Identifying Potential Health Care Innovations for the Future Elderly

The authors used a method that combined literature review and expert judgment to assess potential medical innovations for older adults.

Report

Health Status and Medical Treatment of the Future Elderly: Final Report

This report describes the Future Elderly Model, a demographic-economic model of health spending projections developed by RAND Health to help the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' more accurately predict future health care costs.

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.

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

Evaluation of Parity in the Federal Employees Health Benefits (FEHB) Program: Final Report

In the fall of 2000, the Department of Health and Human Services awarded a contract to evaluate the implementation and impact of MH/SA parity benefits in terms of access, utilization, cost, and quality of care. The findings of this evaluation are reported in the attached report.

Journal Article

Pharmacological and Surgical Treatment of Obesity

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

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

Journal Article

Best-case Series for the Use of Immuno-Augmentation Therapy and Naltrexone for the Treatment of Cancer

For this study, the researchers used criteria developed by the Office of Cancer Complementary and Alternative Medicine (OCCAM), a part of the National Cancer Institute.

Journal Article

Effect of the Supplemental Use of Antioxidants Vitamin C, Vitamin E, and Coenzyme Q10 for the Prevention and Treatment of Cancer

Patients with cancer commonly try a variety of nontraditional treatments that fit the broad category known as Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM).

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

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.

Report

Health Risk Appraisals and Medicare

Reviews the effectiveness of Health Risk Appraisals among the Medicare population for a number of variables, including exercise habits, use of cancer screenings, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, health status, and psychological state.

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.

Report

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

A study of the Veterans Equitable Resource Allocation (VERA) System and how allocations are affected by a number of factors, including infrastructure age, extreme weather conditions, and participation in medical education.

Report

Smart Management of R&D in the 21st Century: Strengthening the Army's Science and Technology Capabilities

Smart Management of R&D in the 21st Century: Strengthening the Army's Science and Technology Capabilities