4/16
Public Health
Flu vaccination rate holds but misinformation about flu and COVID persists
The latest Annenberg Science Knowledge survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center highlights continuing uncertainty about consequential information about the flu, COVID-19, and vaccination.
The future of health research in Malawi
A workshop convened by Penn, University College Dublin, and the Young Researchers Forum in Malawi brought together stakeholders to discuss the African nation’s use of technology in health care and the double burden of non-communicable and infectious diseases.
Why COVID misinformation continues to spread
Penn Medicine’s Anish Agarwal discusses why false claims about the virus and vaccines arise and persist, plus what he hopes will come from NIH-funded research he and Penn Engineering’s Sharath Chandra Guntuku have recently begun.
Through service, Penn commemorates King’s life and legacy
Monday’s MLK Day of Service included a flurry of events on and around campus, and kicked off several weeks of related programming.
Restricted abortion access linked to increased suicide risk in young women
Research from the University of Pennsylvania and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia determined that this association exists for women of reproductive age, findings that hold potential clinical, policy, and ethical implications.
What the Twitter upheaval means to Penn health services researchers
LDI senior fellows weigh in on Twitter’s current upheaval, and whether they think the situation at the social media company will impact how they disseminate research in the future.
Tackling the ethical considerations of dementia research
Alzheimer’s research poses tricky questions. Bedside-nurse-turned-bioethicist Emily Largent wants to answer them, and to improve the lives of Alzheimer’s patients.
An evolving animal health emergency
More than 52 million birds in the U.S. have been affected by an outbreak of avian influenza. Researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine are supporting Pennsylvania’s diagnostic work and launching new investigations to better understand the virus.
What U.S. adults know and believe about polio and the bivalent COVID booster
A new survey finds that while Americans say they do not have concerns about the safety or effectiveness of the bivalent COVID booster, they show much less acceptance of it than the vaccines against polio or monkeypox.
Marci Hamilton works to prevent child sex abuse globally
A new initiative from Hamilton’s CHILD USA and a survivor-led nonprofit called the Brave Movement will research statutes of limitations for every country in the world and track their findings in a global dashboard.
In the News
Mayor Parker’s plan to ‘remove the presence of drug users’ from Kensington raises new questions
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing and Ashish Thakrar of the Perelman School of Medicine comment on the lack of specificity in Philadelphia’s plan to remove drug users from Kensington and on the current state of drug treatment in the city.
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Posts mislead about COVID-19 vaccine safety with out-of-context clip of FDA official
Jeffrey S. Morris of the Perelman School of Medicine says that many adverse medical events, even those clearly unrelated to vaccines, have been reported an order of magnitude more for COVID vaccines during the pandemic than any time before.
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Philadelphians hope a cleaner city will reduce gun violence. Will Oh or Parker make it a reality?
A $3 million blight reduction project in Philadelphia is informed by Penn research showing that cleaning up trash and revitalizing vacant lots can reduce gun violence rates by as much as 29%.
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Universal basic income is working—even in red states
Researchers at Penn concluded that a basic income program in Stockton, California, could have profound positive impacts on local public health.
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NJ’s Camden County deploying virtual reality to teach students about naloxone
Penn partnered with New Jersey’s Camden County to create a virtual reality training video for administering the opioid-reversing drug Narcan.
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An overdose drug is finally over-the-counter. Is that enough to stop the death toll?
Shoshana Aronowitz of the School of Nursing says that over-the-counter Narcan is a baby step in the right direction, not a game changer.
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