CSDE Affiliates Rachel Prusynski (Rehabilitation Medicine) and Tracy Mroz (Rehabilitation Medicine) published an article with co-authors in JAMA Health Forum, titled “Differences in Home Health Services and Outcomes Between Traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage“. Private Medicare Advantage (MA) plans recently surpassed traditional Medicare (TM) in enrollment. However, MA plans are facing scrutiny for burdensome prior authorization and potential rationing of care, including home health. MA beneficiaries are less likely to receive home health, but recent evidence on differences in service intensity and outcomes among home health patients is lacking. This study sought to examine differences in home health service intensity and patient outcomes between MA and TM.

CSDE Affiliate Jeremy Hess (Emergency Medicine, Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, Global Health) co-authored new research in Pathogens, titled “Modeling the Role of Weather and Pilgrimage Variables on Dengue Fever Incidence in Saudi Arabia“. The first case of dengue fever (DF) in Saudi Arabia appeared in 1993 but by 2022, DF incidence was 11 per 100,000 people. Climatologic and population factors, such as the annual Hajj, likely contribute to DF’s epidemiology in Saudi Arabia. In this study, authors assess the impact of these variables on the DF burden of disease in Saudi Arabia and attempt to create robust DF predictive models. Findings can inform DF early warning systems and preparedness in Saudi Arabia.

CSDE Affiliate David Swanson (Sociology, UC Riverside) authored new research in Canadian Studies in Population, titled “Models for Estimating Intrinsic r and the Mean Age of a Population at Stability: Evaluations at the National and Sub-national Level“. Using Canada’s provinces and territories in conjunction with the “Cohort Change Ratio” approach to generating a stable population, Swanson tested the accuracy of regression models constructed from national-level data designed to estimate two factors of a population at stability from initial conditions at the sub-national levels: (1) its constant rate of change, denoted here by r’; and (2) mean population age. He found that these models provide reasonably accurate estimates. In the tests at the subnational level, the accuracy, as expected, is less, but the results indicate that the national level models provide estimates that are useful because they are tractable and provide information not available from the traditional analytical approaches. They also show that there are connections between initial conditions and stability that have been overlooked.