Public Health | Penn Today

The Washington Post

Should you get a measles booster? Here’s what to know

If vaccination records are not available, a person can get a blood test to see whether they have antibodies against certain viral infections like measles, says Joseph Teel of the Perelman School of Medicine.

Over 1 in 3 adults in households with guns do not store all in locked locations

According to a new health survey from Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center, over a third of Americans with guns in their homes say they do not store all of them in a locked location, despite the fact that firearm-related injuries have been the most common cause of death from injury among children and young adults.

1 min. read

2024 PEP and PIP winners: Where are they now?

Nearly a year after being awarded the 2024 President’s Engagement Prize and President’s Innovation Prize, the recipients—now alumni—provide updates on their projects.

5 min. read

A petri dish in a lab labeled Avian Flu HSN4

Older adults might be more resistant to bird flu infections than children

New research from Penn Medicine finds that previous exposures to older flu strains prime the immune system to produce antibodies against H5N1, and children would likely benefit the most from H5N1 vaccinations.

With bird flu in raw milk, many still do not know risks of consuming it

A majority of U.S. adults (56%) knows that drinking raw milk from cows, sheep, or goats is less safe than drinking pasteurized milk. But over 4 in 10 Americans either are not sure (25%), think raw milk is “just as safe to drink” as pasteurized milk (12%) or think it is “safer to drink” (6%), according to a recent survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

USA Today

Tanning salons reinvent themselves with new health and wellness services

Joel Gelfand of the Perelman School of Medicine says that skin tanning is the body reacting to DNA damage.

Combining AI and artmaking for youth well-being

Through a community-led partnership project, graduate student Eileen Feng and an interdisciplinary, cross-school team are working with local youth to tailor an AI-supported platform for healing through creative arts.

Taylor Brothers, Aravind Krishnan, and Rashmi Acharya at Project HERO workshop.

Expanding on a legacy of heart health education

Fourth-year Aravind Krishnan, the inaugural Sarah Katz Award recipient, is working to help shelter residents in Philadelphia better monitor their health.

Four friends holding their face masks in their hands looking at the phone.

How a ‘conspiracy mindset’ promotes acceptance of vaccine misinformation, and how to counter it

A new paper from Penn’s Annenberg Public Policy Center analyzes data from three COVID-19 pandemic years and finds that those with conspiracy mindsets discount messages from sources they don’t trust; challenges to misinformation are most effective from their own trusted community.