Public Health | Penn Today

Person holding a smartphone close to their face rubs eyes.

Relief for dry eyes

Dry eye is a common condition, affecting nearly half of U.S. adults at some point during their lives, but it is often overlooked as a serious ailment, and the classic symptom of dry eyes isn’t always present.

A dried up desert with a small amount of water on the right-hand side. The sun is blazing in the background, in front of mountains.

Four things to know about the latest IPCC climate report

The assessment describes ‘unequivocal’ human influence that no doubt caused ‘widespread and rapid changes’ to the atmosphere, oceans, and more. Professors Mark Alan Hughes and Michael Weisberg discuss the findings, plus how we can avoid passing the point of no return.

empty street of a small town Main Street with a church on one side of the street.

In rural America, religious attendance reduces compassion regarding opioids

Rural areas—particularly those in Appalachian and Midwestern states—are hard hit by the opioid epidemic. However, many individuals in those same states do not support policies scientifically proven to help, like medically aided treatment and syringe exchanges.

To get shots in arms, governments turn to money in pockets

Harald Schmidt of the Perelman School of Medicine reflected on the use of incentives to motivate people to get vaccinated for COVID-19. “If we just get needles into arms we haven’t really made any progress on the bigger picture, which is that whole communities are lacking trust in health care systems or the government,” he said.

historic illustration of a phrenology map of someone’s skull.

When trust in science fosters pseudoscience

A study co-authored by PIK Professor Dolores Albarracín finds that people who trust science are more likely to believe and disseminate false claims containing scientific references than people who do not trust science.

Philadelphia home repair grants linked to decreased neighborhood crime, Penn study finds

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, School of Arts & Sciences, and Stuart Weitzman School of Design found that the crime rate on a given block was reduced by nearly 22% when the city of Philadelphia funded repairs for even a single house. “The social fabric of a neighborhood is very connected to the physical environment,” said the medical school’s Eugenia South.

Row of three-story rowhouses in Philadelphia, some windows boarded up.

City-funded housing repairs in low-income neighborhoods impacts crime rates

Penn Medicine research suggests that investment in structurally damaged homes in low-income and minority neighborhoods are associated with reduced crime and improved public health.

Anthony Fauci speaking at a podium with an American flag in the background.

Public trust in CDC, FDA, and Fauci holds steady, survey shows

The top U.S. health agencies retain the trust of the vast majority of the American public, as does Anthony Fauci, the public face of U.S. efforts to combat the virus, according to a new survey from the Annenberg Public Policy Center.

Conservative media diets tied to distrust in health officials

Kathleen Hall Jamieson of the Annenberg Public Policy Center spoke about the politicization of public health information on COVID-19 in the U.S. "When you begin to reduce trust in experts and agencies telling you that vaccines are safe, you're creating all kinds of susceptibilities that can be exploited for partisan gain," she said.

Six maps of the US highlighting Twitter keywords reflected in a word map.

Community concerns about the COVID-19 vaccine tracked by Twitter

A study of vaccine-related Twitter posts reveals significant differences in concerns people have when broken down by age, race, population density, and religious beliefs.

Filters