Public Health

A teenager sits on the ground on a cell phone beside a vehicle that had crashed into another vehicle.

Drivers licensed at 18 crash more than younger drivers with driver training

New drivers licensed before age 18 who are subject to mandatory driver education that includes behind-the-wheel training, in addition to Graduated Driver Licensing restrictions, are less likely to crash than drivers licensed at age 18 who are exempt from these requirements.

From the Annenberg Public Policy Center ・

Lead paint removal process on a house.

Lancaster General Health invests in healthy homes

Lancaster General’s Lead-Free Families initiative is the first of its kind in the U.S., as it is 100% funded and led by a community health system. It will identify and remediate lead hazards in Lancaster County homes and educate on the risk of lead exposure.

From Penn Medicine News ・

Lissette “Mitzy” Liriano sits at a desk with a computer, wearing a face mask, holding a binder that reads “Medical and mental health resource binder.”

A mental health specialist is helping underserved moms find their way

Lissette “Mitzy” Liriano, Chester County Hospital’s maternal mental health specialist, leads a support group called Moms Supporting Moms, in addition to dividing her time between the hospital and the mental health clinic, where she monitors a largely Hispanic population for mental health needs.

From Penn Medicine News ・



In the News


The Hill

Extreme heat linked to rise in U.S. death rates

Sameed Khatana of the Perelman School of Medicine says extreme heat is associated with a higher mortality rate across the contiguous United States.

FULL STORY →

Axios

D.C.’s struggle to end homelessness is getting more complicated

Unhoused people in their 50s and 60s in three cities examined by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania had health conditions more akin to housed people who were 20 years older.

FULL STORY →

Al Día

How can Philly achieve health equity?

School of Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel participated in a panel discussion about health equity in Philadelphia. She said the pandemic has revealed the connections between social determinants of health, differences in quality of care, and access to health care. “We are still living with the sins of the past,” she said. “And I think in order for us to move forward, we have to address the structural-related issue.”

FULL STORY →

The Atlantic

America’s flu-shot problem is also its next COVID-shot problem

Alison Buttenheim of the School of Nursing said that, if the American public is asked to be vaccinated against COVID-19 again in the future, the turnout would likely not exceed that of the typical annual flu vaccine. “I’m guessing that flu-vaccine coverage is going to be a ceiling,” she said. “I just don’t think we’ll have 70 percent of U.S. adults saying, ‘Oh, an annual COVID shot? Sure.’”

FULL STORY →

The New York Times

Shrugs over flu signal future attitudes about COVID

Robert Aronowitz of the School of Arts & Sciences said public attitudes toward flu illustrate “how we get used to living with the toll of a virus and don’t count it or see it or care or fear it too much.”

FULL STORY →

The Atlantic

How did this many deaths become normal?

Courtney Boen of the School of Arts & Sciences said the Global North’s insistence on moving on from the pandemic “shifts the burden to the very groups experiencing mass deaths to protect themselves” and absolves world leaders of responsibility. “It’s a lot easier to say that we have to learn to live with COVID if you’re not personally experiencing the ongoing loss of your family members,” she said.

FULL STORY →