Unveiling the impact: R&E's 2022 Annual Report
As we journeyed through 2022, the shadow of COVID-19 continued to loom large, with new variants creating new challenges. Yet, Kaiser Permanente Southern California remained steadfast in our commitment to research and discovery. We continued to study COVID-19, but also addressed other health burdens our members face, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and the environmental causes of illness, firearms injury, and racial health disparities.
In the Department of Research & Evaluation’s 2022 Annual Report, “Beyond clinic walls: Research supporting healthy communities,” we share these inspiring stories that exemplify the spectrum of our research’s impact outside our hospital and clinic walls.
R&E News and Features
Serving others by joining a cancer clinical trial
After educator Genie Valarao was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer, she enrolled in a breast cancer clinical trial at Kaiser Permanente to give back to other people.
The rise of in-home cardiac rehabilitation
An innovative in-home program has tripled the percentage of Kaiser Permanente Southern California members who participate in cardiac rehabilitation. And research shows that it can be just as effective as center-based rehabilitation.
Cancer research focuses on patients’ total health
In 2022, researchers conducted many studies focused on improving the lives and total health of patients with breast cancer, including mental health and survival. “A person is not just their disease,” one researcher explained.
The COVID-19 aftermath: Researchers and physicians seek answers
Researchers continued to provide valuable, groundbreaking information on COVID-19 vaccines for policy makers, health care providers, and the public, and, in 2022, they also looked at its aftereffects.
Uncovering links between air pollution and COVID-19
Air pollution affects many people and has been connected to stroke, asthma, pneumonia, and lung cancer. Now, researchers are discovering potential links between air pollution and COVID-19.
Increasing vaccine equity in Southern California
To address the challenges of inequitable access to the COVID-19 vaccine in Southern California, researchers applied a community-oriented strategy to reduce disparities in COVID-19 vaccination by ZIP codes.
Responding to a community outbreak through expanded access
When an outbreak of mpox began to emerge in Southern California, the clinical trials team jumped in quickly to help physicians obtain access to an investigational drug for their patients. The drug was only available through expanded access, sometimes called compassionate use.
Research committed to firearm injury prevention
While most firearm injury research has focused on narrow sets of risk factors and small numbers of patients, Kaiser Permanente researchers assessed electronic health records of 1.9 million young people to investigate potential links between firearm injuries and age, gender, and other factors.
Understanding racial disparities and outcomes in bariatric surgery
A study across 25 health systems shows bariatric surgery is safe and effective, but some Black and Hispanic patients may have experienced higher rates of complications with the gastric bypass. And the difference may not be due to the surgery.