Study sheds light on needs of young people who survive cancer
Emergency department use was common for adolescent and young adult cancer survivors within 5 years of a cancer diagnosis, and differences in use were associated with social and demographic factors and cancer type, according to a new Kaiser Permanente study. The American Cancer Society reports that ...
Featured News
Five questions for … Dr. Huong Nguyen
A nurse and health services researcher, Huong Q. Nguyen, PhD, RN, focuses her research on the care of older adults with chronic and serious illnesses. She is the co-lead of the Care Improvement Research ...
Q&A with Physician Researcher of the Year: Dr. Michael Fassett
Michael J. Fassett, MD, came to work at Kaiser Permanente in 2000. Since then, his dedication to his patients through research has grown. He’s published more than 50 research papers in peer-reviewed ...
COVID bivalent booster protects well against hospitalization
A Kaiser Permanente study shows the Pfizer-BioNTech BNT162b2 BA.4/5 bivalent mRNA vaccine helped protect against a range of COVID symptoms and was effective against the COVID XBB strain sublineages. ...
Shingles vaccine linked to lower risk of COVID-19
December 28, 2021People who were vaccinated for shingles had a lower risk of COVID-19 diagnosis or hospitalization, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of people ages 50 and older. The research was published December 28 in The Journal of Infectious Diseases. “Our findings add to a compelling body of evidence that some vaccines may provide some protection against ...Read more...Dr. Nguyen named 2021 Physician Researcher of the Year
December 28, 2021John K. Nguyen, MD, an obstetrician and gynecologist at Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, has been named the 2021 Southern California Permanente Medical Group Physician Researcher of the Year. The award has been given each year since 2007 to recognize a physician or surgeon for his or her outstanding contributions to the research community. Dr. Nguyen is the ...Read more...Moderna COVID-19 vaccine effective against virus variants
December 16, 2021Kaiser Permanente research published on December 15, 2021 in The British Medical Journal showed 2 doses of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine were highly effective against all SARS-CoV-2 variants. However, vaccine effectiveness against the delta variant moderately declined with increasing time after vaccination. “We conducted a previous study that showed the high effectiveness of the 2-dose Moderna COVID-19 vaccine, ...Read more...Five questions for … Dr. Matthew Mefford
December 16, 2021Matthew Mefford, PhD, is a cardiovascular disease epidemiologist and research scientist in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. His research interests include heart failure, cardiovascular disease disparities, risk factors and outcomes, and the intersection of chronic disease and infectious diseases. He also maintains a broad focus on applying epidemiologic methods to ...Read more...Heart attack patients may have delayed care over COVID-19 concerns
December 14, 2021A study of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members shows that rates of hospital admissions or emergency department visits for heart attacks dropped significantly after stay-at-home orders for the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. These findings, published in The Permanente Journal on December 13, 2021, suggest that people may have delayed seeking care out of concern ...Read more...New Virtual Research Office enables physician research
December 14, 2021Kaiser Permanente Southern California has launched a new Virtual Research Office portal to make it easier for physicians to conduct clinical research that can have a direct impact on the quality of care provided to Kaiser Permanente members. The new portal, developed and housed by the Department of Research & Evaluation, provides a single point of ...Read more...People with HIV are at increased risk for heart failure
December 13, 2021People with HIV are at higher risk of developing heart failure than people without HIV, a new study found. The research, published Dec. 13, 2021, in Mayo Clinic Proceedings, is one of the largest studies to investigate heart failure risk in people with HIV and how that risk varies by age, gender, race, and ethnicity. “Cardiovascular ...Read more...Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is effective 5 months after 2nd dose
November 29, 2021Kaiser Permanente research in Southern California published November 25, 2021, in The Lancet Regional Health – Americas confirmed high Moderna COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness up to 5 months after the second dose. Effectiveness was 87% against COVID-19 infection, 96% against COVID-19 hospitalization, and 98% against COVID-19 death. “This research provides reassuring evidence of the high effectiveness of ...Read more...Higher risk of dementia for older adults living with HIV
November 28, 2021A study reviewing 16 years of patient data found nearly double the rate of dementia among people with HIV compared with those without HIV. The rate of dementia decreased over time for both groups but remained higher for those with HIV, reported research published in the journal AIDS. The study compared more than 13,000 people with HIV, ages ...Read more...Exercise during pandemic linked to better mental health
November 10, 2021People who exercised more during the initial lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic experienced less anxiety and depression than those who didn’t exercise, according to new research published November 11, 2021, in Preventive Medicine. The research also showed that people who spent more time outdoors typically experienced lower levels of anxiety and depression than those ...Read more...