IHPI Informs - October 2021

October 2021

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Groundbreaking research, innovation, and intellectual energy

New Poll: Many at-risk older adults aren’t checking blood pressure at home

Millions of older adults have hypertension or other chronic health conditions that especially benefit from blood pressure (BP) monitoring between clinic visits. A new National Poll on Healthy Aging poll finds less than half of people in this group regularly check their blood pressure at home or in other places outside the health care system.

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Pandemic took a toll on older adults serving as unpaid caregivers for chronically ill or disabled loved ones

Telehealth continues to substitute for in-person care among older adults, but rural use lags

An analysis of Medicare data led by Chad Ellimoottil, M.D., M.S., assistant professor of urology, shows about one in six doctor’s office visits by older Americans no longer takes place in an actual doctor’s office, but rather online or over the phone. The report also shows about a third of rural older adults had at least one virtual visit in 2020, compared with nearly half of their counterparts in suburban and urban areas.

Medicaid expansion closed health gaps for low-income adults across racial and ethnic groups, study shows

Enrollees in Michigan's Medicaid expansion program, the Healthy Michigan Plan, from multiple racial and ethnic backgrounds say their health has improved and they have access to regular care through a doctor’s office, according to a study published in Health Affairs and by the IHPI Healthy Michigan Plan Evaluation Team. The improvements were especially pronounced among low-income white, Black and Latino enrollees.

CAPRA center launches new podcast: Minding Memory

The Center to Accelerate Population Research in Alzheimer’s (CAPRA) has launched a new podcast, Minding Memory, co-hosted by Donovan Maust, M.D., M.S., associate professor of psychiatry, and Matthew Davis, Ph.D., M.P.H., associate professor of nursing. Researchers discuss their work and answer questions about data and methods that are advancing knowledge about Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

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In the news

IHPI members making headlines

Black COVID patients had less medical follow-up, longer return-to-work delays, more hospital readmissions

Black COVID-19 patients had the least physician follow-up and the longest delays in returning to work, according to a study published in Journal of the American Medical Directors Association and led by Sheria Robinson-Lane, Ph.D., M.H.A., M.S., R.N., assistant professor of nursing.

Depression, anxiety may be linked to C-section risk among pregnant women

Depression and anxiety in pregnant women may be connected to the type of delivery they have, according to a study published in Health Affairs and led by Vanessa Dalton, M.D., M.P.H., professor of obstetrics and gynecology.

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders have already been associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes like low birth weight and preterm birth. And now, a new Michigan Medicine study finds that they may also be linked to significantly higher rates of first-time cesarean deliveries among women who were otherwise at low risk of having one.