Publications from RAND Health Care Researchers

Journal Article

Barriers and Facilitators to Optimal Fluoride Varnish Application

Guidelines recommend that children under age six receive fluoride varnish (FV) in medical settings. However, application rates remain low. This study aimed to update understanding of barriers and facilitators to guideline concordant FV application.

Sarah L. Goff, Charlotte F. Gilson, Erin DeCou, Andrew W. Dick, Kimberley Geissler, Michelle Dalal, Ashley M. Kranz

Journal Article

Hospice Care Experiences Among Medicare Decedents With and Without COVID-19, 2020–2021

Care experiences declined in 2020-2021 by a small amount for hospice patients without COVID-19 and by a medium-to-large amount for patients with COVID-19. Differences in care experience between patients with and without COVID-19 narrowed over time.

Ann C. Haas, Rebecca Anhang Price, Marc N. Elliott, Joan M. Teno, Maria DeYoreo

Journal Article

Expert Views on State Policies to Improve Engagement and Retention in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: A Qualitative Analysis of an Online Modified Delphi Process

This study gathered expert consensus on the effectiveness and implementability of state policies to improve engagement and retention in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD).

Sean Grant, Rosanna Smart, Adam J Gordon, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Bradley D. Stein

Report

Evaluation of Los Angeles County's 2023 Mental Health Campaigns: Identifying the Reach and Impact of the Take Action for Mental Health Los Angeles County and Do Worthwhile Work Campaigns

This report describes the evaluation of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health’s 2023 mental health prevention and early intervention and mental health workforce campaigns.

Alison Athey, Rebecca L. Collins, Nicole K. Eberhart, Elizabeth Roth, Samantha Matthews

Brochure

A New System Dynamics Model of the U.S. Physician Workforce

Historically, the supply of physicians has been too limited to meet Americans’ medical needs. Researchers at RAND and the Association of American Medical Colleges developed a system dynamics model to better understand physician workforce dynamics.

Journal Article

Growth in Suicide Rates Among Children During the Illicit Opioid Crisis

This paper shows how the transition of the opioid crisis to illicit opioids increased suicide rates among children.

David Powell

Journal Article

Insurance Coverage During Transitions: Evidence from Medicaid Automatic Enrollment for Children Receiving Supplemental Security Income

We examine the relationship between SSI-Medicaid automatic enrollment and insurance coverage. Medicaid automatic enrollment policies are associated with increased insurance coverage for SSI children, particularly when transitioning into the program.

Stephanie Rennane, Danielle Sobol, Bradley D. Stein, Andrew W. Dick

Journal Article

Within‐Physician Differences in Patient Sharing Between Primary Care Physicians and Cardiologists Who Treat White and Black Patients With Heart Disease

Within-physician Black-White differences in patient sharing exist and may contribute to disparities in cardiac care.

Luke J. Matthews, Cheryl L. Damberg, Shiyuan Zhang, Jose J. Escarce, C. Ben Gibson, Megan S. Schuler, Ioana Popescu

Journal Article

Concurrent Hospice and Dialysis Care: Considerations for Implementation

We developed a conceptual model for concurrent hospice and dialysis care and a corresponding resource list.

Natalie Ernecoff, Mayumi T. Robinson, Erica M. Motter, Alexandra E. Bursic, Keith Lagnese, Robert Taylor, Dale E. Lupu, Jane O. Schell

Journal Article

Do Hospital Characteristics Predict Racial-and-Ethnic Disparities in Patient Experience? National Results from the HCAHPS Survey

Large, for-profit hospitals and hospitals serving higher proportions of Black and Hispanic patients tend to be lower performing overall but have smaller disparities in patient experience.

Megan K. Beckett, Marc N. Elliott, Katrin Hambarsoomian, Loida Tamayo, William Lehrman, Denis Agniel, Meagan Khau, Elizabeth Goldstein, Laura Giordano, Judy H. Ng, Steven C. Martino

Journal Article

Trends in Personal and Family Member Opioid Prescriptions Prior to a Diagnosis of an Opioid-Related Problem Among Adolescents and Young Adults

This study examined the proportion of adolescents and young adults who had an opioid-related problem and who also had a personal opioid prescription drug claim or had a family member with an opioid prescription drug claim prior to the diagnosis.

Austin C. Cohrs, Rosalie Liccardo Pacula, Andrew W. Dick, Bradley D. Stein, Benjamin Druss, Douglas L. Leslie

Research Brief

Recommendations for Strengthening the Health Care Workforce in the Commonwealth of Virginia

This brief describes potential interventions to boost recruitment and retention in Virginia’s health care workforce and increase its structural efficiency.

Megan Andrew, Brian Briscombe, Raffaele Vardavas, Nazia Wolters, Nabeel Qureshi, Wilson Nham, Mahshid Abir

Report

Identifying Strategies for Strengthening the Health Care Workforce in the Commonwealth of Virginia

The authors of this report assess shortages in Virginia's health care workforce and identify potential interventions to address them.

Megan Andrew, Brian Briscombe, Raffaele Vardavas, Nazia Wolters, Nabeel Qureshi, Wilson Nham, Mahshid Abir

Journal Article

The Association of the Medicaid 1915(c) Home and Community-Based Services Waivers with Emergency Department Utilization Among Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Using 2008-2013 Medicaid files, this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the effect of Medicaid home and community-based services waiver programs on emergency department utilizations among youth with autism spectrum disorder.

Guodong Liu, Diana L. Velott, Lan Kong, Andrew W. Dick, David Mandell, Bradley D. Stein, Michael J. Murray, Djibril M. Ba, Zuleyha Cidav, Douglas L. Leslie

Journal Article

Effect of a Peer Comparison and Educational Intervention on Medical Test Conversation Quality: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Results of this initial trial suggest that future interventions to improve medical test conversations and reduce test overuse might focus on easing physician adoption barriers and leveraging patient-clinician relationships.

Ishani Ganguli, Kathleen L Mulligan, Emma D. Chant, Stuart R. Lipsitz, Leigh Simmons, Karen Sepucha, Robert S. Rudin

Journal Article

Telehealth Adoption by Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Treatment Facilities in the COVID-19 Pandemic

The study examined temporal and geographic trends in telehealth availability at U.S. behavioral health treatment facilities and risk factors for not offering telehealth.

Jonathan H. Cantor, Ryan K. McBain, Aaron Kofner, Russell Hanson, Bradley D. Stein, Hao Yu

Journal Article

Black-White Disparities in Colorectal Cancer Outcomes: A Simulation Study of Screening Benefit

This paper compares projected colorectal cancer (CRC) screening benefits for Black and White populations in the context of secular changes in CRC risk, shifts in CRC location, and Black?White disparities in CRC-specific and overall survival.

Carolyn M. Rutter, Pedro Nascimento de Lima, Christopher E. Maerzluft, Folasade P. May, Caitlin C. Murphy

Tool

CLARO Implementation Manual: Strategies and Supports for Successful Implementation of the CLARO Intervention

This manual describes how to implement the Collaboration Leading to Addiction Treatment and Recovery from Other Stresses (CLARO) intervention, which adapts the Collaborative Care Model for adults with opioid use disorder and depression and/or PTSD.

Alex R. Dopp, Miriam Komaromy, Laura Brown, Karen Chan Osilla, Grace Hindmarch, Shreyas Bharadwaj, Lisa S. Meredith, Virginia Chitwood-Sedore, Mallika Bhandarkar, Sapna J. Mendon-Plasek, Valerie Carrejo, Katherine E. Watkins

Journal Article

Playing God? Media Coverage of CRISPR in the United States

Review of online and television news sources in the United States determined that coverage of CRISPR remained ambiguous and infrequent, indicating media have not established the salience of CRISPR to a degree that engages the public or policymakers.

Patricia A. Stapleton, Alessandra Torres Yabar