RSV vaccine protects older adults against severe illness
A new study by Kaiser Permanente has shown that the ABRYSVO respiratory syncytial virus vaccine is very effective in reducing emergency room visits and hospital stays due to RSV among older adults. “This Kaiser Permanente research demonstrated the real-world effectiveness of RSV vaccination among ...
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Study finds air pollution may increase risk of preterm birth
Exposure to a specific kind of air pollution, fine particulate matter, during pregnancy may significantly increase the risk of spontaneous preterm birth, which can be dangerous for both the mother and ...
5 questions for … Dr. Javed Sheikh
Javed Sheikh, MD, was recently named 2024 Physician Researcher of the Year by the Southern California Permanente Medical Group. Dr. Sheikh is the vice area research chair for the Los Angeles area on ...
Kaiser Permanente’s vaccine side-effect monitor bolsters safety
After COVID-19 vaccines became available in December 2020, several smartphone-based reporting systems were developed to monitor vaccine side effects. They included V-safe from the Centers for Disease ...
COVID-19 outcomes are more severe for people of color
May 4, 2021A new Kaiser Permanente study published in Annals of Internal Medicine found that people of color were more likely to be hospitalized and to receive intensive-level care for COVID-19 compared to white patients even after adjusting for known health risk factors such as obesity, diabetes, and other conditions The study was among the first to show that these ...Read more...Celebrating our extraordinary nurses: During Nurses Week, all month, and throughout the year
May 4, 2021For National Nurses Week (May 6 to 12), Nurses Month, and Year of the Nurse, we celebrate the dedicated nurses who work in the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research & Evaluation. Nurses are a vital part of our research program. Most support clinical trials, where their relationship-building skills play an important part in helping ...Read more...5 questions for … Dr. Ana Florea
May 4, 2021Ana Florea, PhD, MPH, is an epidemiologist and post-doctoral research fellow with the Department of Research & Evaluation at Kaiser Permanente Southern California. She has special interests in vaccine safety and effectiveness, infectious diseases, cancer, and chronic kidney diseases. Currently, she is involved in projects studying shingles and Tdap vaccines. She works on projects involving ...Read more...New Kaiser Permanente COVID-19 Vaccine Side Effect Monitoring System launches
April 28, 2021A pilot program in Southern California will develop a vaccine side effect monitor that provides real-time insights to researchers and public health officials.Read more...Child vaccination rates recovering since pandemic’s early days
April 15, 2021The numbers of recommended vaccine doses, including measles vaccine, administered to children decreased dramatically after the declaration of a national state of emergency on March 13, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a Kaiser Permanente study published in Pediatrics. While the decrease was lower and recovered in children under 2 years of age, ...Read more...Physical activity may reduce risk of poor COVID-19 outcomes
April 14, 2021A Kaiser Permanente study of nearly 50,000 people with COVID-19 suggested that regular physical activity provided strong protection from hospitalization, intensive care unit admission, and death. Even exercising inconsistently lowered the odds for severe COVID-19 outcomes when compared to people who were not active at all. The study, led by investigators in Kaiser Permanente Southern California, ...Read more...Most patients’ end-of-life care wishes are met
April 6, 2021The vast majority of patients make their end-of-life care wishes known to loved ones, and nearly 90% of the time those wishes were carried out according to Kaiser Permanente research published April 6, 2021, in the medical journal JAMA Network Open. “There is a common perception that people don’t often document or tell others about their ...Read more...KPSC teams with Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech to assess real-world effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines
March 30, 2021Researchers from Kaiser Permanente Southern California are collaborating with Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech, the makers of the 2 first authorized COVID-19 vaccines, to study their vaccines’ effectiveness in real-world settings in preventing the disease and reducing its severity. Questions these studies will evaluate range from how long protection lasts to how well vaccines perform against variants ...Read more...New CIRT research projects aim to improve care
March 30, 2021The Care Improvement Research Team has awarded funds for 7 new research projects led by Southern California Permanente Medical Group scientists and physician researchers on COVID-19 and other health topics to help improve the care physicians provide for their patients. “This kind of research provides important new evidence to our frontline clinicians,” said Nancy Gin, MD, ...Read more...5 questions for … Dr. Shireen Fatemi
March 30, 2021Shireen Fatemi, MD, FACE, FACP, is an endocrinologist at the Kaiser Permanente Panorama City Medical Center. She was recently named the 2020 Southern California Permanente Medical Group Physician Researcher of the Year. Dr. Fatemi is the chief of Endocrinology in the Department of Internal Medicine and former assistant area medical director at Panorama City. She ...Read more...