Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

Asthmapolis, founded and directed by RWJF Health & Society Scholars alumnus David Van Sickle, PhD, MA, has secured a $5 million investment that will be used to expand operations and further enhance its product, the Milwaukee Business Journal  and Journal-Sentinel report. The company has engineered a GPS-enabled asthma inhaler called the Spiroscout, which sends a signal with the time and location to a remote server every time a patient uses it, allowing patients and providers to track and analyze the onset of asthma symptoms. Read more about Asthmapolis here and here.

Health & Society Scholar Sammy Zahran, PhD, is co-author of a study that finds that children in Detroit are being exposed to lead from an overlooked source: contaminated soil. Zahran and his team examined seasonal fluctuations in children’s blood lead levels and found that levels were highest in the summertime, when contaminated soil turns into airborne dust. The researchers were able to rule out exposure to lead-based paint as the main source of the contamination, NPR’s Shots Blog reports, because blood lead levels were lower in the winter, when children are more likely to be indoors.

A study from the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, which is directed by RWJF Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research recipient Edward W. Maibach, PhD, MPH, finds a majority of Republicans and Republican-leaning Independents think action should be taken to address climate change, United Press International reports. The New York Times Dot Earth Blog also reported on the findings.

Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

A study led by RWJF/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Scholars alumnus Jeffrey Kullgren, MD, MPH, finds that weight loss programs motivate patients to lose more weight when they offer financial prizes in group competitions, rather than individual rewards. MedPage Today and Medscape [registration required] report on the findings.

Healthcare Finance News reports on a study co-authored by RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research recipient Mark A. Hall, JD, that finds insurers subject to the medical loss ratio requirements in 2011 spent less than one percent of premium revenue on quality improvements (0.74%) or rebates (0.35%). The researchers write that “current market forces do not strongly reward insurers’ investments in this area.”

In a post on the New York Times’ Room for Debate blog about prenuptial agreements, Investigator Award recipient Celeste Watkins-Hayes, PhD, writes: “There is no doubt that women need to be savvy about protecting their assets and ensuring that their contributions and hard work are valued, even in marriage. But prenups can only protect a certain demographic. What is needed is a comprehensive strengthening of all women’s safety nets through access to jobs that build wealth, increased financial literacy and a better infrastructure for raising children with or without a significant other.”

Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

Patient-centered end-of-life care leads to happier patients who are in less pain and whose care costs less, RWJF/U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Clinical Scholar Jonathan Bergman, MD, and his colleagues write in the journal JAMA Surgery. Such care is already provided,  the Los Angeles Times reports, at the UCLA Health System, where urology residents are receiving education about end-of-life care, and at the West L.A. Veterans Affairs Medical Center where researchers are integrating palliative care into cancer treatment.

The current system used to evaluate the appropriateness of emergency department visits—and sometimes to deny payment—is flawed, according to a study co-authored by RWJF Physician Faculty Scholars alumna Renee Hsia, MD, MSc, because it only takes into account a patient’s discharge diagnosis (for example, acid reflux), which is often not the reason they originally presented at the ER (chest pain). The researchers warn this could have serious implications, including dissuading patients from using the ER even when their symptoms indicate that they should, United Press International reports.

Susan Wolf, JD, recipient of an RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research, spoke to the Boston Globe about new recommendations from a national organization of genetics specialists that “urge doctors who sequence a patient’s full set of genes for any medical reason to also look for two dozen unrelated genetic conditions, and to tell the individual if they find any of those conditions lurking in the DNA.” All of the genetic mutations on the list are rare, but some indicate an increased risk of cancer or heart disease. In some cases, the genetic results could also indicate that the patients' blood relatives have increased risk, as well.

Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

Eating high-fat dairy products may raise breast cancer survivors' risk of dying years later, according to a nearly 15-year study led by RWJF Health & Society Scholars alumna Candyce Kroenke, ScD, MPH. Breast cancer survivors who ate one or more servings of high-fat dairy a day had a 49 percent higher risk of breast cancer death and a 64 percent higher risk of death from any cause, compared to those who consumed little or no high-fat dairy, Health Day reports. Kroenke hypothesizes that the elevated estrogen rates in milk fats, present because of the production methods common in the Western world, contribute to a relapse of breast cancer.  Fox News and MedCity News also reported on the findings.

A study funded by the RWJF Interdisciplinary Nursing Quality Research Initiative (INQRI) and the National Institute of Nursing Research finds that insufficient nurse staffing in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) can lead to high infection rates among the most vulnerable babies, which can lead to mortality or long-term developmental issues affecting the quality of their lives. Nurse.com, The Star-Ledger, HealthDay and The Lund Report are among the outlets to report on the findings. Read more about the study.

Politico reports on a study co-authored by RWJF Investigator Awards in Health Policy Research recipient Cathy J. Cohen, PhD, that finds young minorities are disproportionately affected by voter identification laws. “Significantly more” minority youths (age 18-29) were asked to show identification at the polls than white youth, the study finds. In addition, minority youth are much less likely to have one of the required forms of identification than white youth—a barrier that was a primary reason many minority youth did not vote in 2012, according to the study.

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Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

In a piece about the growing need for advanced nursing education, Nurse.com interviewed a group of nurse leaders working to fulfill a recommendation from the Institute of Medicine report, The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health, which calls for doubling the number of doctorate-level nurses by 2020. Among those quoted: Christine Kovner, RN, PhD, FAAN, co-principal of RWJF’s RN Work Project; RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows alumna Jane Kirschling, RN, DNS, FAAN; and Susan Bakewell-Sachs, RN, PhD, PNP-BC, program director for the New Jersey Nursing Initiative, a program of RWJF and the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce Foundation.

Nurse.com and Infection Control Today report on an RWJF-supported study that finds hospitals that have higher percentages of nurses with baccalaureate degrees have lower rates of postsurgical mortality. The study, published in the March issue of Health Affairs, stems from the Future of Nursing: Campaign for Action.  Read more about the study.

“I recently traveled to Singapore, where I met with other doctors and told about being the emergency department (ED) doctor at the University of Colorado Hospital the morning of the Aurora theater shootings on July 20, 2012,” RWJF Clinical Scholars alumna Comilla Sasson, MD, MS, FACEP, writes in an op-ed for the Denver Post. “One thing dawned on me as I spoke: I had seen more gunshot wound victims in that one night than these doctors will see in their entire careers.” Read a post Sasson wrote for the RWJF Human Capital Blog about the Aurora theater shootings, and learn more about her experience talking to the national news media afterward.

Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

The average emergency room visit costs 40 percent more than a month’s rent, according to a study led by RWJF Physician Faculty Scholar Renee Hsia, MD, MSc. The study also found the “sticker price” for emergency department care varies widely, the Washington Post Wonk Blog reports, with a sprained ankle ranging from $4 to $24,110. Among the other outlets to report on Hsia’s findings: Health Day, Bloomberg, and MSN.com. Read a post Hsia wrote for the RWJF Human Capital Blog about ambulance diversion and emergency room crowding.

RWJF Health & Society Scholar Jennifer Karas Montez, PhD, was a guest on CNN’s The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer to comment on a recently released longevity study. Montez' research in this area has focused on longevity among women, and she found that low-educated women (especially those without a high school education) have seen declines in their life expectancy, while life expectancy for men has stayed steady or increased. The Associated Press also reported on Montez research.

Americans support government intervention in matters of public health, such as curbing obesity, U.S. News & World Report says in reporting on research conducted by Michelle M. Mello, JD, PhD, MPhil, an RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research recipient. Three-fourths of respondents in a survey said they support laws that would discourage obesity in adults, with most favoring less-intrusive measures such as posting calorie counts.

A regional analysis of the nursing workforce finds that the South and Midwest have a greater supply of registered nurses (RNs) available to fill positions when nurses retire or leave the workforce than other regions. The study, published in Nursing Economic$, found the South and Midwest have more young nurses to replace fewer older nurses than the Northeast and West.

“Expanding the size of the future RN workforce requires the number of entrants flowing into the workforce to exceed the number of nurses flowing out of the workforce,” the authors write.

In addition to surveying the age structure of the RN workforce, researchers used projection models to predict the nurses per capita in each region through 2030. They predict the South and Midwest will continue to see higher growth of RNs to U.S. residents than the Northeast and West.

The findings can help guide national and state health workforce planners, employers, educators, and others who are developing policies and initiatives to address nursing supply in their states, the study says. States in relatively slower RN growth regions might consider actions to recruit more entrants into the nursing workforce, increase efforts to educate policy-makers about their RN age structure, and examine their nursing education capacity.

The research was conducted by Peter Buerhaus, PhD, RN, FAAN, David Auerbach, PhD, MS, Douglas Staiger, PhD, and Ulrike Muench, PhD, RN.

Read the study.

Around the country, print, broadcast and online media outlets are covering the groundbreaking work of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees. Some recent examples:

Susan B. Hassmiller, PhD, RN, FAAN, RWJF senior adviser for nursing, spoke this month at the Oregon Center for Nursing conference on the future of nursing leadership, according to The Lund Report. “We need to be keeping more data, recording our expertise and speaking up for ourselves so when people say quality of care, they will also say, quality of nursing,” she said.

Alicia I. Arbaje, MD, MPH, an alumna of the RWJF Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program and the RWJF Clinical Scholars program, was a guest on NBC Nightly News discussing the need for older adults to live in “dynamic environments” like college towns, where they can stay physically active and socially engaged. See the clips here and here.

A white paper co-authored by RWJF Investigator Award in Health Policy Research recipient Kathleen Sutcliffe, PhD, “breaks down the behaviors of managers who are the best at anticipating, containing, and repairing catastrophes,” Business Insider reports. Among those behaviors: they overcome cognitive biases and update their beliefs, and they don't ignore small problems until they snowball into larger ones.

Science Magazine reports on research by RWJF Scholars in Health Policy Research alumnus Rashawn Ray, PhD, that finds women of color often encounter an unwelcoming environment in graduate school, and have a particularly hard time finding primary mentors who share their experiences and can provide guidance.

The following are among the many honors received recently by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) leaders, scholars, fellows and grantees.

Lindsay Chase-Lansdale, PhD, a member of the RWJF Health & Society Scholars program National Advisory Committee, was elected to the National Academy of Education.

RWJF Clinical Scholars alumnus David J. Shulkin, MD, has been named chair of the board of the New Jersey Council of Teaching Hospitals. Shulkin is president of Morristown Medical Center and vice president of Atlantic Health System.

Flavia Peréa, PhD, an alumna of the RWJF New Connections program, was recognized by Diverse: Issues in Higher Education as a “2013 Emerging Scholar.”

Health & Society Scholars alumna Janxin Leu, PhD, joined HopeLab as Director of Product Innovation, where she will direct the Lab’s “new initiative to promote human resilience and inner values through social-tech innovation.”

The University of North Carolina Board of Governors has approved the UNC School of Nursing’s proposal to add the Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree to its graduate clinical offerings. Two RWJF Executive Nurse Fellows alumnae were instrumental in ensuring the proposal’s approval: School of Nursing Dean Kristen M. Swanson, PhD, RN, FAAN, and newly-appointed DNP program director Debra J. Barksdale, PhD, RN, CFNP, CANP.

Kevin B. Johnson, MD, MS, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor, chair of Biomedical Informatics, and a professor of pediatrics at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, has joined the RWJF Harold Amos Medical Faculty Development Program National Advisory Committee.