Public Health | Penn Today

Young child looking out the window of an apartment building.

Lead as a social determinant of child and adolescent physiological stress and behavior

The association between lead exposure and children’s IQ has been well studied, but few studies have examined the effects of blood lead on children’s physiological stress and behavior, until now.

a hand-held device is used to measure lead levels in a soil sample

Lead toxicity risk factors in Philadelphia

Two studies identify factors that correlate with high blood-lead levels in children, pointing to ongoing environmental justice issues that disproportionately fall on children of color and poorer communities in the city.

Side of a building. Some of the window spaces are covered with bars. Others are covered with plants and other options for greening the building.

Solutions to mitigate climate change, from the IPCC

The latest assessment offers both a harsh reality check and a path forward. Experts William Braham, Peter Psarras, and Michael Mann offer their thoughts.

A hand holding a syringe on a table with latex gloves and two naloxone kits.

Providing naloxone in the emergency department can save lives

A survey finds that approximately half of the patients said that they were carrying naloxone after their ED visit and two-thirds planned to continue carrying naloxone in the future.

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.”

A tall clear glass of water filled almost to the top on a dark-colored countertop. Nature is obvious but blurred in the background.

Well water, lead, and the link to juvenile delinquency

Research from Penn and other universities found that, compared to children with municipal water, those relying on private wells in the U.S. had a 21% higher risk of being reported for any delinquency and a 38% increased risk of being reported for serious delinquency after age 14.

Four volunteers place jars and tins of food in two boxes at a food pantry.

HUP Food Pantry team innovates to address food insecurity

Between June 2020 and November 2021, the HUP Food Pantry gave out nearly 5,000 bags of food to postpartum families with food insecurity.

Gloved hands holding a smart phone with a cord plugged in that is attached to lab equipment.

COVID-19 turned everything upside down. What has Penn Medicine’s innovation team learned?

To many in health care—including those in Penn Medicine’s Center for Health Care Innovation—the COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis from which to find the next great learning opportunity.

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.’”

Q&A

Leonard A. Lauder talks game-changing gift to Penn Nursing, and more

Lauder, a Penn alumnus and emeritus Trustee, donated $125 million to the University, establishing a new program for aspiring nurse practitioners who intend to work in underserved communities.

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