Researcher Dr. Hui Zhou’s joyful New Year’s Day walk
On a rainy New Year’s morning in Pasadena, Dr. Hui Zhou, a research scientist with the Department of Research & Evaluation, walked alongside Kaiser Permanente’s float, “A Better Idea for Health Care,” in the Rose Parade. It was a moment of pride and joy. Dr. Zhou wasn’t just ...
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More than just a pretty space: What research tells us about parks
For many people, public parks are just a beautiful green space they drive by on their way to work. However, research has shown that parks play a crucial role in people’s physical activity, and the ...
Five questions for Dr. Mingsum Lee
Mingsum Lee, MD, PhD, has been named as the 2025 Southern California Permanente Medical Group Physician Researcher of the Year. Commenting about her selection for the award, one nominator said Dr. Lee ...
Los Angeles wildfires increased virtual medical visits
In January 2025, when wildfires swept from the foothills above Los Angeles into the densely populated urban areas below, evacuations ensued and a thick layer of smoke spread across the region. Air quality ...
Kaiser Permanente co-hosts embedded research conference
February 20, 2019Organizations like Kaiser Permanente can make continuous improvements in the quality, safety, and value of patient care and at the same time contribute to scientific knowledge nationally and internationally by embedding researchers in their health care systems. This week, leaders in the movement toward learning health care systems will meet in Pasadena, Calif. to create a ...Read more...Flu vaccine is safe for hospitalized patients
January 18, 2019Hospitalized patients who received the flu vaccine had no increased risk of outpatient visits or hospital readmission within seven days of discharge, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings. The study also showed that vaccinating hospital patients did not increase the risk of fever or rates of laboratory evaluations for infection. It ...Read more...How low is too low? Study highlights serious risks for intensive blood pressure control
December 14, 2018Kaiser Permanente research published today in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found if patients with hypertension taking prescribed medications experience unusually low blood pressures — systolic blood pressure under 110mmHg — they are twice as likely to experience a fall or faint as patients whose treated blood pressure remains 110mmHg and above. This research is ...Read more...5 questions for Dr. Jean Lawrence
December 14, 2018We asked these 5 questions of Jean M. Lawrence, ScD, MPH, MSSA, senior research scientist with the Department of Research & Evaluation in Southern California. Why did you choose to devote your career to researching ways women and children can live better, healthier lives? I’ve always been interested in women’s and children’s health and started my career working ...Read more...Mom’s diabetes could influence whether her child develops ADHD
October 30, 2018After previously finding strong associations between a mother’s diabetes and her child’s risk of developing autism, Anny Xiang, PhD, a researcher with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation, decided to expand her work and look at other neurological development disorders. In a research article released today in Diabetes Care, she targeted attention deficit hyperactivity ...Read more...5 questions for Dr. Reina Haque
October 23, 2018Reina Haque, PhD, MPH, focuses on cancer epidemiology and survivorship at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. Her latest study, published recently in Ethnicity & Disease examined the risk of breast cancer recurrence in a diverse group of women who received care at Kaiser Permanente.Read more...Researcher studies why it can be hard to get moving
August 29, 2018Deborah Rohm Young, PhD, MBA, is director of Behavioral Research, Kaiser Permanente Department of Research & Evaluation. Her research focuses on physical activity, including the associations between sedentary time and cardiovascular health. Her most recent research, which looked at the access to parks and young women’s physical activity, was published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.Read more...Tdap vaccination for pregnant women does not increase risk of autism, study finds
August 13, 2018A Kaiser Permanente study of more than 80,000 children born over a 4-year period showed that the prenatal Tdap vaccination (tetanus, diphtheria, acellular pertussis) was not associated with increased risk of autism spectrum disorder in children. The study was published today in Pediatrics.Read more...Reducing opioids not associated with lower patient satisfaction
June 8, 2018A Kaiser Permanente study of nearly 2,500 patients who used high doses of opioids for at least 6 months showed that reducing their opioid use did not lower their satisfaction with care. The study, “Satisfaction With Care After Reducing Opioids for Chronic Pain,” was published today in The American Journal of Managed Care. “Physicians are often concerned ...Read more...CT scan processing innovations could one day prevent broken bones
April 18, 2018Ordering CT scans is part of Dr. Shireen Fatemi’s daily job. As an endocrinologist at Kaiser Permanente Panorama City, she frequently orders the computed tomography scans to determine the cause of severe stomach aches, back pain, diverticulitis, or other ailments. New technology, though, may soon give those old CT scans a new life. It could one ...Read more...