Media and Research Summaries
Associate Professor Elham Mahmoudi wins minority research award from the American Public Health Association
Associate Professor Elham Mahmoudi, Ph.D., of the Department of Family Medicine was awarded the 2023 American Public Health Association’s Betty J. Cleckley Minority Issues Research Award for her paper, “Racial/ethnic disparities in 30-day hospital readmission and frequent hospitalizations among Medicare beneficiaries with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia: Traditional Medicare vs. Medicare advantage.” Read the full story here.
Kamdar N, Syrjamaki J, Aikens JE, Mahmoudi E: Readmission Rates and Episode Costs for Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias Across Hospitals in a Statewide Collaborative, JAMA Network Open.6(3):e232109, 03/2023. PM10020873
Web story related to the paper
As we publish our research relevant to people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, we write plain language summaries, or longer stories, so that both the general public and medical professionals can understand the story behind our work.
What do all these numbers we publish mean? Why should our work matter to people outside of academia?
We want to explain that. Read our summaries to get the fuller picture of our research:
Enrollment in Medicare Advantage is linked with lower risks of hospitalizations and readmissions for patients with Alzheimer’s Disease and related Dementia
As healthcare costs continue to rise for millions of older Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease and related Dementia (ADRD), researchers at the University of Michigan have found that individuals enrolled in Medicare Advantage (MA) have a lower risk of hospitalization, as well as all-cause 30-day hospital readmission, in contrast to those who are enrolled in traditional Medicare (TM).
The researchers cite Alzheimer’s Association statistics that as of 2020, more than 6 million Americans aged 65 and older were living with ADRD. The total costs for caring for these patients is much higher than for those without the conditions — almost $42,000 per person compared with about $14,000 for people without ADRD. The association estimates that approximately 13 million people will be diagnosed with the disease by 2050.
Read the full story here.
Can AI help hospitals spot patients in need of extra non-medical assistance?
In the rush to harness artificial intelligence and machine learning tools to make care more efficient at hospitals nationwide, a new study points to another possible use: identifying patients with non-medical needs that could affect their health and ability to receive care.(link is external)
These social determinants of health – everything from transportation and housing to food supply and availability of family and friends as supports – can play a major role in a patient’s health and use of health care services.
The new study focuses on a patient population with especially complex needs: people with Alzheimer’s disease or other forms of dementia. Their condition can make them especially reliant on others to get them to medical appointments and social activities, handle medications and finances, and shop and prepare food.
Read the full story here.
New research finds that Black and Hispanic people with disabilities receive less preventive care, even when they are privately insured
Patients from historically disenfranchised racial and ethnic groups who also have disabilities face significant burdens accessing primary care services. As a result, they are at higher risk for multimorbidity and adverse health events.
While health insurance-covered preventive services provided through primary care improves health outcomes in the general population, it’s unclear if these same outcomes extend to privately insured people with disabilities who are also from marginalized populations.
A new study supported by researchers from the Department of Family Medicine found that even when Black and Hispanic patients with disabilities were privately insured, their utilization of preventive care services was significantly lower than people with no disabilities. Their study, “Racial and ethnic inequities in use of preventive services among privately insured adults with pediatric-onset disability,” was recently published in the Annals of Family Medicine(link is external).
Read the full story here.