Duy Đỗ-Feisst 

Americans are increasingly relying on prescription medications that, although effective in treating their focal indication, include serious side-effects. In several projects, my coauthor Jason Schnittker and I documented a dramatic increase over the past decades in the use of medications with cognitive impairment side-effect, insomnia side-effect, and depression side-effect. The use of these medication was associated with increased risks of cognitive deficits, insomnia, and depression, as well as growing use/costs of medical services.

• Duy Do and Jason Schnittker (2020). “Utilization of Medications with Cognitive Impairment Side Effects and The Implications for Older Adults’ Cognitive Function.” Journal of Aging and Health. Link to paper.

• Duy Do (2020). “Trends in the Use of Medications with Insomnia Side Effects and the Implications for Insomnia Among U.S. Adults.” Journal of Sleep Research. Link to paper.

Why do racial/ethnic minorities and immigrants often report better mental health than non-Hispanic whites and US citizens, despite their poorer physical health, limited access to medical care, and greater discrimination and stress? My coauthor Jason Schnittker and I argued that the minorities' and migrants' advantages in mental health were in part due to their lower consumption of medications with depression or suicide as a side-effect, compared to non-Hispanic whites and US citizens.

• Jason Schnittker and Duy Do (2020). “Pharmaceutical Side-Effects and Mental Health Paradoxes among Racial-Ethnic Minorities.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior. Link to paper.

• Duy Do and Jason Schnittker (2022). “Pharmaceutical Side-Effects and the Sex Difference in Psychological Distress and Depression.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Link to paper.

• Duy Do and Jason Schnittker (2022). “The Role of Pharmaceutical Side-Effects in Depression Among Immigrants.” Health & Ethnicity.

Whether health insurance improves health and health behavior has been a central question in every debate on the US healthcare reform. Leveraging national health surveys, I have evaluated the impact of several health insurance policies (e.g. Medicare Part D prescription drug program and the Affordable Care Act) on the use of prescription opioids, chronic back pain, chronic pain management, food insecurity, polypharmacy (concurrent use of multiple medications), and drug-drug interactions.

• Duy Do (2020). “The Impact of Medicare Part D on Opioid Use Among U.S. Older Adults.” Drug and Alcohol Dependence. Link to paper.

• Duy Do and Morgan Peele (2020). “The Affordable Care Act’s Young Adult Mandate Was Associated with a Reduction in Pain Prevalence.” PAIN. Link to paper. 

• Duy Do (2020). “Treat or Eat? The Impact of Medicare Part D's Prescription Drug Benefits on Food Security Among US Older Adults.” Manuscript available upon request.

• Duy Do (2020). “Do Health Insurance Expansions Increase the Prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Drug-Drug Interactions among U.S. Community-Dwelling Older Adults? Evidence from Medicare Part D’s Prescription Drug Program.” Manuscript in preparation.

Drug-drug interactions occur when patients consume multiple drugs that react with one another, resulting in unintended adverse side effects. Older adults are more likely to experience drug-drug interactions than young adults since a vast majority of them consume multiple medications simultaneously for treatment/prevention of chronic conditions. However, little is known about the prevalence of older adults encountering life-threatening drug-drug interactions, how the prevalence has changed over time, and risk factors for these interactions. In several ongoing projects, I have demonstrated that the prevalence of drug-drug interactions among older adults has nearly doubled since 1999. I have also identified several risks factors for drug-drug interactions, including rising comorbidity and the concurrent use of multiple pharmacies.

• Duy Do (2020). “Prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Drug-Drug Interactions among U.S. Community-Dwelling Older Adults from 1999 to 2018.” Manuscript in preparation.

• Duy Do (2020). “Do Health Insurance Expansions Increase the Prevalence of Potentially Inappropriate Drug-Drug Interactions among U.S. Community-Dwelling Older Adults? Evidence from Medicare Part D’s Prescription Drug Program.” Manuscript in preparation.

The healthcare workforce is arguably the most vital component of the health care system. However, low attendance of healthcare workers in low-resource countries may impede hospitals’ ability to effectively respond to a rapid surge in demand for care, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a unique fingerprint verified data from all public-sector hospitals in Bangladesh, my coauthors and I found that healthcare workers' attendance declined in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This finding may portend an even greater decrease in attendance if COVID-19 continues to spread in Bangladesh.

In addition, my colleagues at Penn Nursing and I have investigated the effects of staffing mandates on nurse staffing and patient outcomes. States with a staffing mandate (e.g. California) were more likely to have an adequate nursing workforce and better patient outcomes, compared to states without such a mandate.

• Duy Do, Malabika Sarker, Simiao Chen, Pauli Tikka, Ali Lenjani, Till Bärnighausen, and Pascal Geldsetzer (2020). “Healthcare Worker Attendance During the Early Stages of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis of Fingerprint-Verified Data from All Public-Sector Secondary and Tertiary Care Facilities in Bangladesh.” Journal of Global Health. Link to paper.

• Andrew Dierkes, Duy Do, Haley Morin, Monica Rochman, Douglas Sloane, and Matthew McHugh (2020). “The Impact of California’s Staffing Mandate and the Economic Recession on Registered Nurse Staffing Levels” Nursing Outlook. Link to paper.

• Kathryn Riman, Duy Do, Andrew Dierkes, Matthew McHugh, and Monica Faye (2020). “The Impact of the Affordable Care Act Medicaid Expansion on Hospital Registered Nurse Staffing Levels.” Under review at Policy, Politics, & Nursing Practice.

Diagnosis guidelines are used to enhance healthcare providers' decision making process and to improve patient health. Using medical claims data from the U.S. and U.K. and a regression discontinuity approach, my coauthors and I aim to evaluate the impact of clinical guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of hypertension, high cholesterol, cancer, and osteoporosis on long-term health outcomes and mortality. 

• Pascal Geldsetzer and Duy Do (2020). “The benefits and side effects of osteoporosis medications: A regression discontinuity study of primary care patients in the UK.” In progress.