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Public Health
Yelp star ratings may reveal county-level death rate disparities
A one-star disparity on health care facility Yelp reviews could indicate a 60-death-per-year difference between some United States counties where those facilities are located.
Penn Libraries acquires the personal papers of historian and activist Elizabeth Fee
The papers of the pioneering historian and health advocate, who died in 2018, adds to the Libraries’ growing collection of materials charting the history of public health activism.
Racial disparities in avoidable hospitalizations for Medicare beneficiaries
A new Medical Care study by LDI Fellow Norma Coe and colleagues reveals racial disparities in avoidable hospitalizations that are even greater than in traditional Medicare.
Four facts about the COVID-19 boosters
The FDA and CDC endorsed boosters of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccines just a month after the agencies did the same for a Pfizer/BioNTech booster. Here’s what’s known today about these shots.
Mandates likely work to increase vaccine uptake
Rather than causing a backlash, vaccination requirements will succeed at getting more people inoculated, according to research from PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín and colleagues at Penn.
Five things to know about the upcoming flu season
Thanks to COVID prevention measures, last year’s flu season was among the mildest in years. Penn experts explain why this year may be different and how to prepare.
Africa’s Iron Lady
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, former president of Liberia and a Nobel Peace Prize winner, came to Perry World House as part of the Global Order Colloquium.
Insights on trust and vaccines: Lessons from an emergency department analysis
A team from the Perelman School of Medicine completed a survey to determine who people trust when it comes to vaccine hesitancy.
A how-to guide for PennOpen Pass
Penn Today provides details on how to use the daily and exposure symptom tracker, what members of the Penn community should do if they receive a Red Pass, and new platforms available for visitors accessing campus spaces.
In hard-hit neighborhoods, Philly CEAL outreach aims to address COVID disparities
Through community engagement and improved information dissemination, researchers at Penn Nursing, Penn Medicine, and Annenberg, in conjunction with the City of Philadelphia, are working to increase vaccination and testing rates and decrease new COVID-19 infections.
In the News
UPenn hosts free online panel for LGBTQ+ workplace inclusion
The Eidos LGBTQ+ Health Initiative, led by José Bauermeister and Jessica Halem of the School of Nursing, will host a free online panel in April on the integration of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce.
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Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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Posts mislead about COVID-19 vaccine safety with out-of-context clip of FDA official
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that many adverse medical events, even those clearly unrelated to vaccines, have been reported an order of magnitude more for COVID vaccines during the pandemic than any time before.
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Philadelphians hope a cleaner city will reduce gun violence. Will Oh or Parker make it a reality?
A $3 million blight reduction project in Philadelphia is informed by Penn research showing that cleaning up trash and revitalizing vacant lots can reduce gun violence rates by as much as 29%.
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Universal basic income is working—even in red states
Researchers at Penn concluded that a basic income program in Stockton, California, could have profound positive impacts on local public health.
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NJ’s Camden County deploying virtual reality to teach students about naloxone
Penn partnered with New Jersey’s Camden County to create a virtual reality training video for administering the opioid-reversing drug Narcan.
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