Effectiveness of transcendental meditation on functional capacity and quality of life of African Americans with congestive heart failure: a randomized control study.

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a Transcendental Meditation (TM) stress reduction program for African Americans with congestive heart failure (CHF).

Design: Randomized, controlled study

Participants And Intervention: We recruited 23 African American patients > or = 55 years of age who were recently hospitalized with New York Heart Association class II or III CHF and with an ejection fraction of < .40.

Changing availability and cost of Internet physician consultations and prescription medications.

Introduction: Internet use by the public to obtain medical information and services continues to grow. In 1999, we found cost of general physician visits was 15% higher, and cost of medications was 10% greater via the Internet than from community providers. The goal of this study was to re-examine changes in product availability and costs to consumers four years later.

Health-related quality of life and satisfaction with care among older men treated for prostate cancer with either radical prostatectomy or external beam radiation therapy.

Objective: To analyse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and satisfaction with care across potential curative treatments for older patients newly diagnosed with prostate cancer.

Patients And Methods: In a prospective cohort study we recruited 115 older patients (> or =65 years) newly diagnosed with prostate cancer from the urology clinics of an urban academic and a Veterans' Administration (VA) hospital. Patients completed generic (Short Form-36), prostate-specific (University of California Los Angeles Prostate Cancer Index) HRQoL, and Client Satisfaction with Care (CSQ-8) surveys before treatment with either radical prostatectomy (RP) or external beam irradiation (EBRT) and at 3, 6 and 12 months afterward.

Effects of continuing medical education on improving physician clinical care and patient health: a review of systematic reviews.

Objectives: The objective of physician continuing medical education (CME) is to help them keep abreast of advances in patient care, to accept new more-beneficial care, and discontinue use of existing lower-benefit diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. The goal of this review was to examine effectiveness of current CME tools and techniques in changing physician clinical practices and improving patient health outcomes.

Methods: Results of published systematic reviews were examined to determine the spectrum from most- to least-effective CME techniques.

Health related quality of life and direct medical care cost in newly diagnosed younger men with prostate cancer.

Purpose: We evaluated health related quality of life (HRQOL) and the direct medical care cost (DMC) in young men receiving radical prostatectomy.

Materials And Methods: In this prospective cohort study, 40 newly diagnosed patients with prostate cancer (PCa) who were younger than 65 years were matched with 40 cancer-free men. Participants completed the Medical Outcome Study Short Form and UCLA-PCa Index surveys prior to treatment, and at 3, 6, 12 and 24-month followup.

Medical care cost of patients with prostate cancer.

Objective: To analyze variations in direct medical care cost of patients with prostate across two racial groups after controlling for age, disease stage, and comorbidity.

Methods: In this retrospective cohort control study, we randomly selected 120 newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients (60 African Americans and 60 White) from the administrative database of a large urban academic hospital. Medical care costs data and clinical data were obtained.

Cost effects of a specialized care center for people with Alzheimer's disease.

A retrospective cohort control study of three populations, 65 years of age or older, at the same institution estimated the incremental cost of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The AD population of the ambulatory Alzheimer's Disease Center (ADC) (n = 640) was matched by age, gender, ethnicity, and address to one with AD from the general internal medicine practice (AD-GM) (n = 419) and to a control group without AD (n = 5331)from the same general medicine practice. Medicare costs of all care for all diagnoses were obtained for 1998 and 1999.

Prevalence and economic effects of depression.

The lifetime risk of major depression among Americans is 17 percent, with as many as 10 percent suffering from depression in any 1-year period. The author reviews the epidemiology of depression, costs of treatment and nontreatment, and its economic impact on quality of life and daily function. This review also examines ways to improve value for money spent relative to this disease.

Use of formal benefit/cost evaluations in health system decision making.

Objectives: To examine actual use of formal benefit/cost and benefit/risk results in health system decision making by public and private healthcare organizations.

Study Design: A direct survey with questions about healthcare decisions made by the respondent or the respondent's organization. The scope of this survey precluded meaningful quantitative analysis, thus descriptive and qualitative analyses were performed.

Ethnic minority use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM): a national probability survey of CAM utilizers.

Context: US research results suggest that some sociodemographic characteristics predict use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM). Specifically, use of CAM has been positively associated with persons from higher socioeconomic status groups and negatively associated with African-Americans.

Objective: To investigate the sociodemographic characteristics of CAM utilizers in a national probability sample, one containing an over-sampling of ethnic minorities.

Dissemination and characteristics of acute care for elders (ACE) units in the United States.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to determine prevalence and characteristics of acute care for elders (ACE) units and hospital characteristics associated with the presence of an ACE unit.

Methods: Data on characteristics and prevalence of ACE units were obtained by surveying all established geriatric medical divisions across U.S.

Cost of illness of Alzheimer's disease: how useful are current estimates?

Purpose: The goal of this literature review was to determine the validity and policy relevance of recent estimates from many countries of Alzheimer's disease (AD) costs.

Design And Methods: We searched Medline and other databases for English-language peer-reviewed journals on total, direct, indirect, and per case cost of AD that used 1985-2000 data. We adjusted costs of U.

Development and validation of a grading system for the quality of cost-effectiveness studies.

Purpose: To provide a practical quantitative tool for appraising the quality of cost-effectiveness (CE) studies.

Methods: A committee comprising [corrected] of health economists selected a set of criteria for the instrument from an item pool. Data collected with a conjoint analysis survey on 120 international health economists were used to estimate weights for each criterion with a random effects regression model.

Over-the-counter nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and risk of gastrointestinal symptoms.

Objective: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are among the most commonly used medications. Although much is known about prescription NSAIDs and risk of GI side effects, little is known about over-the-counter (OTC) NSAIDs and their risk of GI side effects. The aim of this study was to estimate use of OTC NSAIDs, GI side effects, and professional and self-care for these side effects.

Classic or Bayesian research design and analysis. Does it make a difference?

Objective: The role of classical and Bayesian statistical approaches remains in dispute in health services research and policy. The goal of this study was to determine if results differ when both analytic techniques are used with the same data set.

Design: We searched MEDLINE and related databases for English-language articles published January 1, 1978 through August 31, 1999.