11/15
Public Health
Why are U.S. hospitals closing?
Why are U.S. hospitals closing?
Wharton’s Lawton Burns discusses the closure of Philadelphia’s Hahnemann University Hospital and the trend of medical facilities shuttering nationwide.
Further testing on sunscreen is needed. That’s no reason to avoid it
Further testing on sunscreen is needed. That’s no reason to avoid it
Following a study on active ingredients in sunscreen, the takeaway is: Wear it. Avobenzone, which was found to be absorbed into the bloodstream, is not ‘not safe,’ says dermatology’s Bruce Bod.
Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time
Relieving water scarcity, one home at a time
Due to a rapidly depleting underground aquifer, many residents of Mexico City are left with little-to-no easily accessible clean water for hours or days at a time. This summer, members of the Penn chapter of Isla Urbana helped install rainwater harvesting and filtration systems to provide residents of the Mexican capital with clean water year-round.
Managing asthma amid the summer heat and dips in air quality
Managing asthma amid the summer heat and dips in air quality
For people with asthma, effective treatment plans can help patients better manage their condition and prevent complications. However, a variety of factors, like increased exposure to poor air quality, can make life more challenging.
A conversation about second-generation immigrants and mortality
A conversation about second-generation immigrants and mortality
In a Q&A, Penn demographer Michel Guillot discusses recent work showing that male children of immigrants from Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia have a mortality rate nearly double that of the native population in France.
Collegiate affirmative action bans linked to smoking among minority students
Collegiate affirmative action bans linked to smoking among minority students
A Penn Medicine study shows unanticipated adverse effects of affirmative action bans on health behaviors in minority high school students.
What influences how parents and their gay adolescent sons talk about sexual health at home?
What influences how parents and their gay adolescent sons talk about sexual health at home?
Research from Penn found that even when parent-child conversations avoid heteronormative stereotypes, outside factors like mass media and religion—those beyond the parents’ control—can reinforce them.
For incarcerated women, From Cell to Home offers a second chance
For incarcerated women, From Cell to Home offers a second chance
The program, run by the Ortner Center’s Kathleen M. Brown with support from Penn student volunteers and the Quattrone Center, works to secure the release of reformed prisoners serving life sentences.
Toxins from the tap
Toxins from the tap
In Pennsylvania and hundreds of other locations around the country, manmade chemicals known as PFAS have been found in drinking water. Howard Neukrug discusses the potential harm, how local and federal agencies are responding, and the many related questions that remain unanswered.
Quantifying the health risks of being a family caregiver
Quantifying the health risks of being a family caregiver
Health care and economics researchers find that more research is needed in the area of ‘next friend risk,’ or the full dimension of health risks faced by family and friends who become caregivers to the homebound.
In the News
The Washington Post
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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Forbes
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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CPR News
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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The Hill
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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Los Angeles Times
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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Philadelphia Inquirer
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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