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Demography
Comparing urban and rural excess mortality during COVID-19
The first-ever county-level study of excess mortality in the United States shows monthly excess deaths spread from large cities to rural counties in the second year of the pandemic.
The problem of race-specific tests in lung care
Using different baseline lung function for Black and white patients leads to lower rates of diagnosis in Black patients, say Penn LDI fellows.
Data shows disparities among alcohol use disorder diagnosis among veterans
New Penn Medicine research shows how AUD diagnoses differ among veterans, given evidence that exposure to trauma, including combat, is a risk factor.
Home health is another care setting where workers use judgment language
A first-of-its kind study from Penn LDI reveals that Black and Hispanic patients are described negatively, and have shorter visits.
Understanding the decline in racial disparities in COVID
The School of Arts & Sciences’ Irma Elo and Samuel Preston, with a collaborative team of researchers, assessed racial disparities in U.S. COVID-19 deaths, calling for continued efforts to better understand and implement targeted strategies for addressing health inequalities.
Sonja Dümpelmann on designing nature
Sonja Dümpelmann, professor of landscape architecture, explores ‘the reciprocal relationship’ between humans and their environments.
Educational inequities? Follow the numbers, says Ericka Weathers
The Penn GSE professor studies how policies that are supposed to be race-neutral, like school funding formulas, truancy policy, or special education, end up failing marginalized groups, and urges a look at the results of past policies to better inform moving forward.
How have women in the workforce fared, three years into the pandemic?
Despite hopeful signs that this demographic is returning to work, certain female-dominated sectors, like the care economy, still haven’t recovered, signaling there’s more to learn about COVID-19’s full effect.
What drives transplant waitlisting disparities?
For transplant patients, psychosocial evaluations, like other measures in the transplant process, can lead to people of color facing worse outcomes.
States with high COVID-19 death rates also saw high mortality from other causes
Research from Penn, Boston University, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation shows that between March 2020 and February 2021 non-COVID deaths accounted for some 20% of excess mortality.
In the News
Indianapolis is the US city with the highest birth rate, study finds, which could have an impact on its future
Emilio A. Parrado of the School of Arts & Sciences says that some U.S. metropolitan areas have more deaths than births and emphasized that high birth rates in Indianapolis could have significant policy and urban-planning implications.
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Sweden is the No. 1 country for affordability, safety and overall quality of life
The Wharton School surveyed more than 17,000 people worldwide to rank the best countries in the world based on quality of life.
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Inside the quest to keep homeless people safe in Fort Worth’s deadly summer heat
The Perelman School of Medicine’s Sameed Khatana is quoted on statistics that show a large number of deaths that do occur during heatwaves or extreme heat are among people who are experiencing homelessness.
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Where are King County’s homeless residents from?
Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice explains that most of the migration that occurs for people who are homeless happens on a regional scale.
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How records of life’s milestones help solve cold cases, pinpoint health risks and allocate public resources
An article by Paula Fomby of the School of Arts & Sciences discusses how a more centralized approach to record keeping in the U.S. could facilitate rapid turnaround of statistics and ensure that public agencies have more complete information about their populations.
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How many homeless people are in King County? Depends who you ask
Dennis Culhane of the School of Social Policy & Practice is quoted on alternative approaches to homelessness.
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