Demography | Penn Today

Six maps of the US highlighting Twitter keywords reflected in a word map.

Community concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine tracked by Twitter

A study of vaccine-related Twitter posts reveals significant differences in concerns people have when broken down by age, race, population density, and religious beliefs.

Female researcher working on a computer in a lab.

Medical journal articles by women are cited less than men’s articles

New Penn Medicine research finds that original research articles with women as both primary and senior authors are cited the least.

KYW Newsradio (Philadelphia)

The consequences of the declining birth rate in the US

Hans-Peter Kohler of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about the potential ramifications of declining births in the U.S. “Ultimately, declining birth rates affect what’s called the population age structure, so how many individuals are at different ages within a country or population,” he said, “and the population age structure, along with the size of the population, have profound effects on many, many aspects of life.”

Black hospital patient in bed with nurse in full PPE preparing to put oxygen mask on patient’s face.

Higher COVID-19 mortality among Black patients linked to unequal hospital quality

If Black patients were admitted to the same hospitals that serve a majority of white patients, Penn Medicine researchers show their risk of death would drop by 10%.

Adolescent in the driver’s seat of a car looking at their cell phone.

Use of cell phones while driving may be tied to other risky road behaviors in young adults

Anew study finds that 18- to 24-year-olds who use cell phones while driving are more likely to engage in other risky driving behaviors associated with “acting-without-thinking,” a form of impulsivity.

Two people, one Black one white, sitting in a waiting room wearing masks.

Black and white women have same mutations linked to breast cancer risk

The prevalence of genetic mutations associated with breast cancer in Black and white women is the same, but the takeaway is not to change testing guidelines based on race alone, but focus on ensuring equal access to and uptake of testing to minimize disparities in care and outcomes.

a photograph of Penn's college hall framed by green leaves during the summer

2021 cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows for Academic Diversity named

The competitive program, managed by Office of the Vice Provost for Research, is designed to support early career researchers and scholars while enriching the Penn community.

Cartoon of medical professionals standing one-on-one with individuals of various races, ages, family structure.

Honing cultural humility skills can improve health care as a whole

At Penn Medicine, medical personnel are adopting cultural humility as an ongoing process of developing a set of skills to approach any individual from any culture at any time.

People on a commuter vehicle with face-coverings on

Q&A

Wharton professor discusses the economics of racism

Bernard E. Anderson, the Whitney M. Young, Jr. Professor Emeritus at the Wharton School, discusses how racism hurts the economy and affects all Americans.

Two senior citizens look at a calculator while seated at a table covered in paperwork.

Why older Americans are taking on more debt

Older Americans are accumulating more debt as they near retirement, according to research from the Wharton School that reveals a troubling trend in personal finance among people in their 50s and early 60s.

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