Demography

Four empty vials for human stool samples.

Take-at-home tests boost colorectal cancer screening tenfold

By making it the default to send screening tests to patients’ homes unless they opted out via text message, screening rates increased by more than 1000%.

African American person wearing a face mask having their temperature taken via forehead scanner by a masked, gloved medical professional.

Patients in cancer remission at high risk for severe COVID-19 illness

Patients with inactive cancer and not currently undergoing treatments also face a significantly higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19, with Black cancer patients twice as likely to test positive for the virus.

Ruby Washington holds a bioengineered cast in the shape of a human leg.

Ruby Washington is poised to make her mark in bioengineering

The senior in Penn Engineering’s Department of Bioengineering weds biomedicine and her pursuit in addressing healthcare disparities in the Black community.

Three medical professionals in full PPE wheel a gurney with a patient towards elevator doors.

Opiate overdoses spike in Black Philadelphians, but drop in white residents since COVID-19

New research into opioid overdoses that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic highlights new disparities along racial lines that are likely fueled by existing inequality.

Person with a laptop on their lap talking with a doctor via telemedicine portal.

Older, nonwhite patients access telemedicine significantly less among patients overall

A new study out of Penn Medicine finds minorities, older populations, non-English speakers, and those with lower incomes face inequities in accessing telemedicine care.

Premature baby in an incubator in the ICU.

No change in preterm birth or stillbirth in Philadelphia during pandemic

Challenging earlier reports, a CHOP-Penn Medicine study employed a rigorous analysis of a diverse, urban pregnancy cohort and found no significant changes.

View of Philadelphia skyline from the Schuylkill River at dusk.

How can cities become healthier, greener, and more equitable in the future?

In a year marked by COVID-19, renewed calls for racial justice, a contentious presidential election, and an active wildfire and hurricane season, Penn experts share what’s needed to make urban areas more resilient to future crises.

A new vision for the Population Aging Research Center

For more than 25 years, PARC has been a hub for work on disparities in aging and mortality. Co-directors Hans-Peter Kohler and Norma Coe, who took over in July, want to expand its reach.

A young child smiles at the camera standing in green grass holding a small American flag next to his head as a pickup truck passes on the street behind him with a passenger waving an American flag.

Latino voters and lessons from the 2020 election

Political scientist Michael Jones-Correa, historian Ann Farnsworth-Alvear, and demographer Emilio Parrado share their thoughts on the election results and what both parties might take away from looking at how Latinos voted.

African American person lying on a hospital bed asleep.

Closing the racial disparity gap in survival after in-hospital cardiac arrest

Despite investments to improve the quality of resuscitation efforts, fewer than 25% of all patients that experience cardiac arrests in hospitals survive to discharge, and survival varies significantly across hospitals and by race.

Filters