RAND Corporation

About: RAND Corporation is a nonprofit organization based out in Santa Monica, California, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Health care & Population. The organization has 9602 authors who have published 18570 publications receiving 744658 citations.

Social support and stressful life events: age differences in their effects on health-related quality of life among the chronically ill.

Abstract: There is substantial evidence of individual variation in health-related quality of life measures that is not accounted for by age or disease condition. An understanding of factors that determine good health is necessary for maintained function and improved quality of life. This study examines the extent to which social support and stressful life events were more or less beneficial for the long-term physical functioning and emotional well-being of 1402 chronically ill patients. Analyses, conducted separately in three age groups, showed that social support was beneficial for health over time regardless of age. In addition, low levels of support were particularly damaging for the physical functioning of older patients. Stressful life events impacted differentially on health-related quality of life: relationship events had an immediate effect on well-being which diminished with time; financial events had an immediate negative effect on functioning and well-being which persisted over time for middle-aged patients; bereavement had a delayed impact on quality of life, with the youngest patients especially vulnerable to its negative effects; work-related events had both negative and positive effects, depending on age group. Results reinforce the importance of identifying and dealing with psychosocial problems among patients with chronic disease.

Empirical explorations of the logic theory machine: a case study in heuristic

Abstract: This paper is a case study in problem solving, representing part of a program of research on complex information-processing systems. We have specified a system for finding proofs of theorems in elementary symbolic logic, and by programming a computer to these specifications, have obtained empirical data on the problem-solving process in elementary logic. The program is called the Logic Theory Machine (LT); it was devised to learn how it is possible to solve difficult problems such as proving mathematical theorems, discovering scientific laws from data, playing chess, or understanding the meaning of English prose.

Stepping through the drug use sequence: longitudinal scalogram analysis of initiation and regular use.

Abstract: Using a new technique for tracing the sequence of use over time, this study examined the pattern of drug involvement among 4,145 West Coast adolescents over the 4-year span from Grades 7-10. During the period covered, the mid- to late 1980s, we found no evidence that cocaine has become a gateway drug. However, the data provided some support for treating cocaine initiation as a separate stage that precedes the onset of hard drugs other than pills. The analysis also showed that increased involvement with legal drugs constitutes an important step in the transition to hard drug use for most adolescents. Weekly alcohol use followed marijuana use and preceded use of all other illicit drugs for Hispanic, White, and Black youth. However, it followed use of hard drugs for Asians. Weekly smoking formed a distinct stage between initial use of pills and other hard drugs for non-Hispanic Whites. The results underscore the importance of prevention efforts aimed at curbing the transition to regular use of alcohol and cigarettes, as well as their initial use.

Use of complementary/alternative therapies by women with advanced-stage breast cancer

Abstract: This study sought to describe the pattern of complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) use among a group of patients with advanced breast cancer, to examine the main reasons for their CAM use, to identify patient's information sources and their communication pattern with their physicians. Face-to-face structured interviews of patients with advanced-stage breast cancer at a comprehensive oncology center. Seventy three percent of patients used CAM; relaxation/meditative techniques and herbal medicine were the most common. The most commonly cited primary reason for CAM use was to boost the immune system, the second, to treat cancer; however these reasons varied depending on specific CAM therapy. Friends or family members and mass media were common primary information source's about CAM. A high proportion of advanced-stage breast cancer patients used CAM. Discussion with doctors was high for ingested products. Mass media was a prominent source of patient information. Credible sources of CAM information for patients and physicians are needed.

The Effects of World War II on Economic and Health Outcomes across Europe.

Abstract: We investigate long-run effects of World War II on socioeconomic status and health of older individuals in Europe. We analyze data from SHARELIFE, a retrospective survey conducted as part of SHARE in Europe in 2009. SHARELIFE provides detailed data on events in childhood during and after the war for over 20,000 individuals in thirteen European countries. We construct several measures of war exposure: experience of dispossession, persecution, combat in local areas, and hunger periods. Exposure to war and, more important, to individual-level shocks caused by the war significantly predicts economic and health outcomes at older ages.