News Archives

  • Obesity increases risk of death from COVID-19, particularly for men and young people

    August 14, 2020
    In a study published in Annals of Internal Medicine, Kaiser Permanente research shows that obesity was associated with a substantial increased risk of death from COVID-19. However, it also found that the risk of death from COVID-19 associated with obesity is not uniform among those who are obese, but instead disproportionately affects men and people ...
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  • Kaiser Permanente joins late-stage COVID-19 vaccine study

    August 12, 2020
    Today, Kaiser Permanente began participating in a phase 3 clinical trial to test an investigational vaccine against SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing the current COVID-19 global pandemic. Kaiser Permanente plans to enroll approximately 1,400 participants at 4 sites in California and Oregon. The goal for this trial is to enroll up to 30,000 participants at more ...
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  • Improving care through research

    July 21, 2020
    The Care Improvement Research Team is a groundbreaking partnership in Kaiser Permanente Southern California, bringing researchers and clinicians together to improve health care quality and affordability for Kaiser Permanente members and people throughout the world. Through CIRT, research scientists team up with frontline clinicians to identify research questions that are important to patients and the doctors ...
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  • Annual report shows Kaiser Permanente Southern California research stretching the frontier of health

    July 8, 2020
    The growing need for solutions to important health questions requires innovative thinking beyond what experts know today. The Department of Research & Evaluation’s 2019 Annual Report, “Stretching the Frontier: Research Improving Health and Well-being,” illustrates some of the innovative ways Kaiser Permanente Southern California researchers and clinicians are working together toward answers to those questions. The ...
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  • Few pregnant women admitted for delivery have COVID-19

    July 3, 2020
    New research shows that few women admitted to Kaiser Permanente Southern California hospitals to give birth this spring tested positive for COVID-19. Those who did were asymptomatic, and none passed on the infection to their newborns. “We had heard from our colleagues in New York about the high rate of COVID-19 among pregnant women coming to ...
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  • Screening cancer patients for distress

    June 29, 2020
    When she was a new scientist at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, Erin E. Hahn, PhD, MPH, had an intense interest in cancer research. Oncologists invited her into their quarterly meetings so she could see and hear the challenges they faced. One of those challenges was depression and anxiety among cancer patients. Dr. Hahn and others worked ...
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  • Patient advisors revolutionize research

    June 29, 2020
    Fifteen years ago when Matt Owen was a freshman psychology major in college, he had a “psychotic break from reality.” “I started having hallucinations that altered my mind in a way that dealing with everyday life became challenging,” he said. “It changed the course of my life.” Times were rocky for a while, including more than a ...
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  • Oncologists as clinical trials investigators

    June 29, 2020
    Receiving a cancer diagnosis can be a terrifying moment for a patient. But when patients at Kaiser Permanente Southern California see a physician for cancer, they can take comfort knowing they are also seeing a clinician researcher who can help them access the latest tools being studied for fighting the disease. “We are an integrated health ...
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