11/15
Public Health
How unflagged, factual content drives vaccine hesitancy
A new paper from computational social scientist Duncan Watts examines how factual, vaccine-skeptical content on Facebook has a greater overall effect than “fake news,” discouraging millions from the COVID-19 shot.
How ‘invitations’ from Penn Medicine restored mammogram completion rates
To correct a COVID-caused lag in breast cancer screenings, Penn Medicine messaged every patient who was overdue. The rate of completed mammograms improved to 74%.
A new $250M approach to addressing health care patients’ food insecurities
Penn plays a major scientific role in new initiative backed by the American Heart Association- and Rockefeller Foundation-led consortium.
Educate to Empower aims to break down barriers to breast cancer screenings
With the President’s Engagement Prize, fourth-years Simran Rajpal and Gauthami Moorkanat plan to deliver education and resources directly to community centers in Philadelphia, tackling medical mistrust, health literacy, and more.
Collaborating to advance health communication
As a generation of pioneering scholars retired, several new hires are working together to continue Annenberg’s legacy as a leader in Health Communication.
Who, What, Why: Taussia Boadi on trauma and Black maternal health
The fourth-year sociology major’s research looks at the relationship between adverse childhood experiences, birth outcomes, and resilience in Black women.
Killings of unarmed Black people and racial disparities in sleep health
Penn Medicine research finds that Black adults across the U.S. suffer from sleep problems following exposure to news about unarmed Black individuals killed by police during police encounters.
Penn & Philly shines light on community partnerships
The Office of the Executive Vice President launched the initiative in January, highlighting important service work across the University, the Health System, and Philadelphia.
Two-and-a-half decades of research in Malawi
As the country’s life expectancy has risen, the Malawi Longitudinal Study of Families and Health has shifted its current and future research to aging.
Trauma surgeon works to confront firearm injury at its source
Elinore Kaufman, LDI senior fellow and assistant professor of surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine, focuses on helping patients and communities with firearm violence.
In the News
Got canker sores? Try switching your toothpaste
Richard Wender of the Perelman School of Medicine says that canker sores often start with a minor trauma to the mucosal lining, like a sharp edge on a tooth or a pair of prickly braces.
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Colorado has the most cases of bird flu among dairy cows in the U.S.
The School of Veterinary Medicine has developed a bird flu vaccine that is to be tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
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FDA Study finds infectious H5N1 bird flu virus in 14% of raw milk samples
Patrick E. Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center says it is important that anyone planning to consume raw milk be aware that doing so can make you sick and that pasteurization reduces the risk of milk-borne illnesses.
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This Juneteenth, we must invest in our future as well as remember our past
Victor Roy, an incoming assistant professor at the Perelman School of Medicine, writes that “baby bonds” could help mitigate the worsening racial wealth gap.
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Column: How a blunder by a respected medical journal is fueling an anti-vaccine lie
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that even with a 100% effective vaccine, there would have been high levels of morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 in 2021.
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RFK Jr.’s vaccine misinformation campaign started after he ignored a Philly doctor
Paul Offit of the Perelman School of Medicine and Melanie Kornides of the School of Nursing comment on Robert F. Kennedy’s misinformation campaign against vaccines.
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