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Behavioral Health

Voting is linked to living longer
African American person tearing off an I Voted Today sticker

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Voting is linked to living longer

A new study co-authored by SP2’s Femida Handy shows that voting is associated with reduced mortality risk in older adults.

2 min. read

More money makes people happier, but not at work

More money makes people happier, but not at work

In a new study, Wharton senior fellow Matthew Killingsworth finds that people who make more money are indeed happier in their lives—just not while they are at work.

Safe driving habits boosted by insurance plans that reward safe driving
View of a highway from inside a car.

Image: wmaster890 via Getty Images

Safe driving habits boosted by insurance plans that reward safe driving

Popular insurance programs offering discounts for driving safely can reduce risky behaviors like speeding and hard braking, Penn Medicine researchers show.

Frank Otto

2 min. read

Uncovering predictors for post-surgical chronic opioid use

Uncovering predictors for post-surgical chronic opioid use

Penn Nursing researchers have identified several key predictors of whether patient will continue using opioids long after the typical recovery period from surgical procedures.

1 min. read

‘Nudging’ both patients and providers boosts flu vaccine numbers
A person getting a bandage on their arm after a flu shot from a medical provider.

Image: Iparraguirre Recio via Getty Images

‘Nudging’ both patients and providers boosts flu vaccine numbers

A new study shows that when patients got text messages from their primary care practice, and the providers were nudged themselves to boost vaccination numbers, rates jumped.

Frank Otto

2 min. read

Addressing the psychological impacts of inflammatory bowel disease
Therapist and patient.

Image: lorenzoantonucci via Getty Images

Addressing the psychological impacts of inflammatory bowel disease

In a collaborative study, Psychologist Melissa Hunt and gastroenterologist Chung Sang Tse showed that cognitive behavioral therapy reduced disability for patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis and that psychologists with no prior gastrointestinal experience could learn to deliver IBD-informed CBT effectively.

3 min. read

Penn experts earn NIH Director’s awards

Penn experts earn NIH Director’s awards

Six researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine have been recognized for their creative research through the National Institutes of Health Director’s awards from the NIH Common Fund’s High-Risk, High-Reward Research program for their unconventional approaches to major challenges in biomedical and behavioral research.

Kevin Volpp: Nudging populations toward better health
Kevin Volpp.

Kevin Volpp is the Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School, and director at the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics.

(Image: Courtesy of the Wharton School)

Kevin Volpp: Nudging populations toward better health

Kevin Volpp, Mark V. Pauly President’s Distinguished Professor at the Perelman School of Medicine and Health Care Management at the Wharton School, discusses how behavioral health interventions can improve public health outcomes.

From the Regulatory Review

2 min. read