Demography | Penn Today

Silhouette of a person sitting against a wall on the side of the image, legs pulled up close to her chest.

Why are alcohol- and drug-related deaths rising in the U.S. and not elsewhere?

With insights from anthropology and neuroscience, Penn researchers Michael Platt and Peter Sterling find that, in comparison, 16 other wealthy nations offer communal assistance at every life stage, support that protects individuals and families long term.

Group of people wearing masks outside a building in Malawi.

It takes a village, especially during a global pandemic

A Penn LDI and Penn Population Aging Research Center team tracks behavior and attitudes in Malawi during COVID-19’s first wave.

Briana Nichols stands among a group of twelve people in Guatemala.

Briana Nichols focuses her work not on migrants, but on the people who stay

When Briana Nichols, a joint doctoral candidate in Penn GSE and anthropology, started working within communities of extensive migration, she says the thing they cared about the most was what it took to not migrate.

A patient having a telemedicine appointment with a doctor via a desktop computer screen.

Racial disparity in follow-up appointments disappears with telemedicine

An inequity in the rate of Black patients making it to their primary care appointment after a hospitalization was eliminated after telemedicine became widely used amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Patient with a face mask looking at a computer with a medical professional.

Busting myths about the Asian American ‘model minority’

Two new studies highlight the problem with aggregating diverse groups of people into a single category of “Asian American” when applied to cardiovascular disease and cancer diagnosis and outcomes.

Person walking with cane past a tall apartment building.

Environment key to injury recovery for Black men

Data from a Penn Nursing study shows that injured Black men from disadvantaged neighborhoods experience higher injury mortality, years of life-expectancy loss, and psychological symptoms that persist after initial wounds have been treated.

A person wearing a hoodie and a backpack, hands up, in front of headlights shining in the person's direction.

Who’s at greatest risk to encounter the criminal legal system in the U.S.?

New work from Penn, Princeton, and Washington University in St. Louis finds that for young people of color, contact with the system begins early and is incredibly widespread.

Doctor wearing a mask checks the blood pressure of a patient also wearing a mask.

Heart disease-protective diabetes drug is not used equitably

The medication GLP-1 RA treats diabetes and is linked to positive outcomes for heart disease patients, yet a Penn Medicine study has found inequities in its use along racial, ethnic, and economic lines

African American man jogging on a track.

Brief intervention increased physical activity in African American men living with HIV

A new study finds that with just three sessions, participants improved both their aerobic and muscle strengthening activities, which could help them live longer and more active lives.

The New York Times

Children, coping with loss, are pandemic’s ‘forgotten grievers’

Dan Treglia of the School of Arts & Sciences is quoted about his study of how communities of color are disproportionately affected in caregiver loss from COVID-19.

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