4.15
Public Health
Medication access for opioid use disorder lower among those in criminal justice system
Medication access for opioid use disorder lower among those in criminal justice system
Penn Medicine research finds Medicaid expansion helps increase access to medications for opioid use disorder, but limitations exist to broadening access.
How Penn is handling COVID vaccinations
How Penn is handling COVID vaccinations
Jack Heuer, vice president of the Division of Human Resources, details Penn’s process and planning.
Living in a majority-Black neighborhood linked to severe maternal morbidity
Living in a majority-Black neighborhood linked to severe maternal morbidity
Penn Medicine researchers studied the association between neighborhood-level risk factors and poor maternal health outcomes in Philadelphia between 2010 and 2017.
An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods
An approach to COVID-19 vaccination equity for Black neighborhoods
A new paper centers racial equity and address the structural barriers that have prevented Black and other underrepresented minority communities from being vaccinated against COVID-19 at equitable rates.
In Peru, a race to vaccinate dogs as two epidemics collide
In Peru, a race to vaccinate dogs as two epidemics collide
A team of workers in Peru, led by Penn Medicine’s Ricardo Castillo-Neyra, led a two-month rabies vaccination campaign.
The power of architecture to address public health and environmental crises
The power of architecture to address public health and environmental crises
Two new studies, one on UV sterilization in occupied rooms and another on radiative cooling, show how architecture can help create interior spaces that are both COVID-safe and energy-efficient.
Can a Penn epidemiologist prevent a bedbug-driven outbreak?
Can a Penn epidemiologist prevent a bedbug-driven outbreak?
Epidemiologist Michael Z. Levy curbed a Chagas disease epidemic in Arequipa, Peru. Can he prevent an outbreak in Philadelphia?
WIC Child Nutrition Program saw enrollment grow after switch from paper vouchers
WIC Child Nutrition Program saw enrollment grow after switch from paper vouchers
A Penn Medicine study finds electronic benefit cards are more user-friendly and encourage less stigma than paper vouchers.
Sixty percent of opioids unused after common procedures
Sixty percent of opioids unused after common procedures
A new Penn Medicine study of how text messaging could inform opioid prescribing practices shows that 60% of opioids are left over after orthopaedic and urologic procedures.
MaskUPenn: A year of mask-wearing in pictures
MaskUPenn: A year of mask-wearing in pictures
Following CDC guidelines and campus mandates, the Penn community put their best face coverings forward for a masked photo series.
In the News
The New York Times
The White House issues its first-ever proclamation on Black maternal health
Elizabeth Howell of the Perelman School of Medicine said that severe maternal morbidity, in which women experience severe complications related to pregnancy and childbirth, impacts more than 50,000 U.S. women each year. “Similar to maternal mortality, Black and brown women have elevated rates of maternal morbidity,” she said.
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Boston Globe
Biden, public health officials face crossroads on COVID-19
Aaron Richterman of the Perelman School of Medicine said promoting how effective COVID-19 vaccines actually are would help convince more people to get vaccinated. “Nothing is ever 100 percent, but these are as effective as any vaccine that’s ever been tested,” he said. “That’s how I would frame that.”
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The Guardian
Study reveals alarming trend in US death rates since 2000
Samuel Preston of the School of Arts & Sciences spoke about rising mortality rates in the U.S. over the last two decades. Preston and his colleagues attribute the shift in part to this country’s lack of a universal health care system.
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Al Día
Dr. Antonia Villarruel to chair national committee tackling U.S. health disparities
Dean Antonia Villarruel of the School of Nursing is the newest chair of the National Academy of Medicine’s Culture of Health program. “The Culture of Health Program is well-positioned to build and strengthen the evidence base to address structural racism. This work will be accomplished together with communities and the multiple private- and public-sectors that intersect to promote health,” she said.
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Boston Globe
Big tobacco is coming for legal marijuana
Andy Tan of the Annenberg School for Communication and Shaleen Title of Ohio State University expressed concerns about tobacco companies’ involvement in the burgeoning legal cannabis industry. “The tragic public health consequences of cigarettes were exacerbated through sustained profit-driven predatory marketing practices and deregulatory efforts,” they wrote. “Instead of repeating that history, federal policy makers should work with tobacco control and state-level marijuana experts to prevent Big Tobacco 2.0.”
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The Hill
New global structure needed for infectious disease control
Harvey Rubin of the Perelman School of Medicine co-wrote an op-ed about the structural changes needed to prepare society for future pandemics. “The currently inefficient international regime for infectious disease control requires a new overarching structure that will harmonize, integrate, and coordinate the existing relevant legal structures that deal with infectious disease issues,” they wrote.
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