20210305093594.png){kind=logo}
The PhD degree prepares nurse scientists to advance knowledge through research that improves health, translates into policy, and enhances education. However, as the role of the nurse has changed, and health care has grown more complex, there is a need to re-envision how PhD programs can attract, retain, and create the nurse-scientists of the future and improve patient care.
Since 2016, the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) has been the #1 nursing school in the world. Penn Nursing again retains the top spot for 2021 according to a recent ranking by QS World University. The rankings highlight the world’s top universities in 51 different subject areas based on academic reputation, employer reputation, and research impact.
Equitable implementation of COVID‐19 vaccine delivery is a national and global priority, with a strong focus on reducing existing disparities and not creating new disparities. But while a framework has been recognized for equitable allocation of COVID‐19 vaccine that acknowledges the rights and interests of sexual and gender minorities (SGM), it fails to identify strategies or data to achieve that goal.
According to a new study published in Medical Care, improving hospital nurse staffing as proposed in pending legislation in New York state would likely save lives. The cost of improving nurse staffing would be offset by savings achieved by reducing hospital readmissions and length of hospital stays.
With stressors mounting daily on the health care system due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a de-prioritization of the childbearing family has been noted. Their care has changed, resulting in mothers forced to go through labor and birth without their partners, parents barred from NICU visitation, and discharge of mothers and newborns early without enough expert lactation care. There is great concern that these changes in childbearing families’ care may become permanent – to the detriment of the health of both mother and child.
Nurse storytellers will share their true, personal, stories – virtually – about their nursing experiences and insights. The stories are grounded in the context of the event theme: stepping up.
An abundance of data underscore the importance of breastfeeding and human milk for the optimal health of infants, children, mothers, and society. But while breastfeeding initiation rates have increased to more than 80% in the U.S., a disparity exists for African American mothers and infants. In this group, breastfeeding is initiated only about 69% of the time.
While eating less and moving more are the basics of weight control and obesity treatment, finding ways to help people adhere to a weight-loss regimen is more complicated. Understanding what features make a diet easier or more challenging to follow can help optimize and tailor dietary approaches for obesity treatment.
Advancements in diabetes technology have improved quality of life and glycemic control in children with type 1 diabetes. However, data show that a subset of children is being left behind. Those from low-income families and non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children are not experiencing benefits associated with technological advances, and are at higher risk for diabetes complications and adverse outcomes through ongoing poor glycemic control.
According to a new study published in American Journal of Infection Control, improving nurse staffing as proposed in pending legislation in New York state would likely save lives of sepsis patients and save money by reducing the length of hospital stays.
National efforts to develop a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine at “warp speed” will likely yield a safe and effective vaccine by early 2021. However, this important milestone is only the first step in an equally important challenge: getting a majority of the U.S. public vaccinated.
Cocaine continues to be one of the most commonly abused illicit drugs in the United States. Pre-clinical literature suggests that targeting glucagon-like peptide-1 receptors (GLP-1Rs) in the brain may represent a novel approach to treating cocaine use disorder. Specifically, GLP-1R agonists, which are FDA-approved for treating diabetes and obesity, have been shown to reduce voluntary drug taking and seeking in preclinical models of cocaine used disorder. However, the exact neural circuits and cell types that mediate the suppressive effects of GLP-1R agonists on cocaine-seeking behavior are mostly unknown.
More than 90 percent of human papillomavirus (HPV)-related cancers could be prevented by widespread uptake of the HPV vaccine. Yet, vaccine use in the United States falls short of public health goals.
In-hospital cardiac arrests (IHCA) represent catastrophic and often terminal events. Despite investments to improve the quality of resuscitation efforts, fewer than 25% of all patients that experience cardiac arrests in hospitals survive to discharge, and survival varies significantly across hospitals and by race. Until now, few have been able to specify reasons for the between-hospital differences.
Survivors of COVID-19 are a vulnerable population who often have health ramifications from their illness and hospital stay. Upon returning home from acute care, large proportions of survivors experience functional dependencies, pain, dyspnea, and exhaustion. Until now, no data has been available on the outcomes of COVID-19 patients discharged home after hospitalization and their recovery needs.
Nancy A. Hodgson, PhD, RN, FAAN, the Anthony Buividas Term Chair in Gerontology and Professor of Nursing, will be the next chair of the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s (Penn Nursing) Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences (BHS), effective January 1, 2021.
The Global Philadelphia Association uses the award to recognize international significant achievements of Philadelphia leaders in medicine and business entrepreneurship. Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel is one of five recipients to be honored this year during the virtual 2020 Globy Awards celebration on December 14, 2020.
Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is the third most common pediatric chronic disease in the United States, and the risk of the disease has risen sharply in non-Hispanic Black (NHB) children in the last 20 years, data show. Ironically, the significant advances in T1D therapeutics over recent years, especially new technologies, may have exacerbated racial disparities in diabetes treatment and outcomes
The COVID-19 pandemic and the implications of physical distancing have disrupted new mothers’ birth and breastfeeding experiences even if they are not COVID-19 positive or a person awaiting results. In a new case series report from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), researchers share common concerns and experiences as reported by three first-time, healthy mothers regarding the disruption of their birth plans and breastfeeding experiences.
Community immersion classes are central to teaching nursing students about social determinants of health. But what happens when on-site engagement is suspended due to a pandemic?
LoGrippo, PhD, RN, MSN, NE-BC, ANEF, the Kehler Family Assistant Dean of Curricular Affairs and Innovation and Practice Associate Professor in Penn Nursing’s Department of Family & Community Health, is one of fifteen distinguished nurse educators selected for the fourteenth class of fellows to be inducted into the prestigious NLN Academy of Nursing Education. With previous classes, academy membership now totals 317.
Matthew D. McHugh, PhD, JD, MPH, RN, FAAN, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM). Dr. McHugh is the Independence Chair for Nursing Education and Professor of Nursing at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Associate Director of the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, and Senior Fellow of the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.
University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann and her husband, Michael Doyle, have a made a $2 million gift to the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing’s Innovating for Life and Living Campaign, as part of the University’s Power of Penn Campaign. The gift, which brings the couple’s total giving to Penn to $4.5 million, will create the Gutmann Leadership Scholars Program at Penn Nursing.
The Missouri Foundation for Health is co-funding the replication and rigorous examination of the outcomes of the Transitional Care Model at the VA St. Louis Health Care System that is part of the national MIRROR-TCM study. Earlier this year, Arnold Ventures awarded a $6 million grant in support of the study at four large health systems, including the Veterans Health Administration.
Insulin pumps are widely used in the management of type 1 diabetes (T1D) and reviews have shown insulin pump therapy to be associated with improved glycemic control, fewer severe hypoglycemia events, and improved quality of life. Yet, non-Hispanic white children (NHW) are more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic Black children (NHB) to use this technology.
Serious traumatic injuries are a health event that can begin a trajectory toward chronic health and social challenges. Research on patient outcomes following traumatic injuries establishes the pervasive nature of injuries’ long-term consequences in physical, psychological, social and economic well-being, which may persist months and even years after an injury hospitalization. In light of this research, emerging interventions have targeted enhanced and coordinated healthcare services to support recovery and address patients’ long-term rehabilitative needs.
Opioid use disorder and overdose have reached unprecedented levels around the world. In the United States, remediation of pain is one of the most common reasons American adults seek healthcare. Therefore, it is vital that clinicians practicing in diverse roles and settings have a clinical understanding of pain and substance use disorders as well as knowledge about public health and opioid policy interventions.
The United States has seen a 200% increase in the rate of deaths by opioid overdose in the last 20 years. But many of these deaths were preventable. Naloxone, also called Narcan, is a prescription drug that reverses opioid overdoses, and in more than 40 states — including Pennsylvania — there is a standing order policy, which makes it available to anyone, without an individual prescription from a healthcare provider.
Confronting the uncomfortable reality of systemic racism – the system that creates and maintains racial inequality in every facet of life for people of color – is having a national heyday. But calling out this injustice and doing something about it are two different things.
HIV prevention remains a public health priority in the United States. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is a drug regimen recommended for individuals who have engaged in behaviors that place them at elevated risk for HIV. When used consistently, daily oral PrEP has been shown to reduce HIV transmission by 99 percent. However, despite increases in PrEP awareness and uptake over the past several years, data show that four of five people who could benefit from PrEP did not access the medication in 2018.
Adolescence is a difficult period of development, made more complex for those with Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). The challenges of managing multiple doses of daily insulin administration, blood glucose monitoring, dietary and exercise requirements, can make self-care difficult and complicate outcomes. Adolescents with T1DM often have poorer diabetes outcomes than others, indicating that glucose control is difficult for them to maintain.
Holly Harner, PhD, has been appointed the Afaf I. Meleis Director of the Center for Global Women’s Health (CGWH). She recently joined Penn Nursing as a Practice Professor of Women's Health in the Department of Family and Community Health.
According to a new study published today in BMJ Quality & Safety, many hospitals in New York and Illinois were understaffed right before the first surge of critically ill Covid-19 patients. The study, “Chronic Hospital Nurse Understaffing Meets Covid-19,” documented staffing ratios that varied from 3 to 10 patients for each nurse on general adult medical and surgical units. ICU nurse staffing was better but also varied significantly across hospitals.
The diverse situations experienced by health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic often present serious ethical challenges. From the allocation of resources and triage protocols to health-care worker and patient rights and the management of clinical trials, new ethical questions have come to the forefront of today’s global public health emergency.
Many Black men suffer symptoms of traumatic stress in the aftermath of traumatic injury, and they also often carry social concerns, including experiences of discrimination and stigma. Yet despite their significant needs, underserved populations often have limited access to behavioral health care as well as a lack of financial resources to pay for such care. Because of these barriers, many trauma survivors do not seek professional behavioral health care and instead rely on informal or alternative sources of care.
As a rapid influx of patients overwhelmed health systems during the coronavirus pandemic, palliative nurses played dual roles supporting patients, patient families, and colleagues. Two researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) are among those detailing the important role palliative care has in responding during the COVID-19 pandemic and in future public health crises.
As of May 2020, nursing home residents account for a staggering one-third of the more than 80,000 deaths due to COVID-19 in the U.S. This pandemic has resulted in unprecedented threats—like reduced access to resources needed to contain and eliminate the spread of the virus—to achieving and sustaining care quality even in the best nursing homes. Active engagement of nursing home leaders in developing solutions responsive to the unprecedented threats to quality standards of care delivery is required.
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to drastic changes in how hospitals provide end-of-life care to patients and their families. With strict no-visiting limitations in place in an effort to stem contagion, patients have been dying alone.
Sudden school closures in the United States were undertaken to reduce COVID-19 transmission this spring. Those closures were not typical, and how and when schools reopen will create a set of new norms, with unique stressors for students, families, school personnel, and communities.
There are close to 28 million nurses around the world who comprise a global workforce that delivers about 90 percent of primary healthcare, including frontline response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring their optimal contribution and continued well-being amid the myriad consequences of COVID-19 will increase the potential for measurable and improved health outcomes.
Older adults with COVID-19 who survive hospitalizations and return to their homes confront substantial health challenges and an unpredictable future. Early evidence suggests that complex and long-term physical, functional, cognitive, and emotional negative health consequences will be the norm for them. However, the trajectories of health care needs of older adults with COVID-19 in the weeks and months following hospital discharge have yet to be identified.
Microsoft, Johnson & Johnson, the Society of Nurse Scientists Innovators Entrepreneurs and Leaders (SONSIEL), and DevUP announce the first Nurse Hack for Health: COVID-19 Virtual Hackathon, occurring online May 15-17, 2020. The virtual hackathon is a timely opportunity for those on the frontline to apply their experience, resourcefulness and innovative thinking and employ technology to help improve response to the pandemic, and save lives.
Suzanne Miyamoto, PhD, RN, FAAN, Chief Executive Officer of the American Academy of Nursing, will be the 2020 Penn Nursing commencement speaker. The ceremony, which will be virtual due to the coronavirus, will take place on Monday, May 18th at 3pm. Details about the virtual event, including a link to the livestream, can be found at www.nursing.upenn.edu/commencement2020.
Nursing research has an important influence on evidence-based health care practice, care delivery, and policy. Two editorials in the journal Research in Nursing & Health, by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), explore how nursing research has been paramount in dealing with the emerging coronavirus pandemic.
Substance use by youth remains a significant public health concern. While social media provides youth the opportunity to discuss and display substance use-related beliefs and behaviors, little is known about how posting drug-related content, or viewing posted content influences the beliefs and behaviors of youth relative to substance use.
While the current coronavirus pandemic continues to affect all people, families will still give birth and bring new life into the world. During the COVID-19 crisis, breastfeeding and the provision of human milk to infants is recommended by national and international organizations because it is effective against infectious diseases: It strengthens the immune system by directly transferring antibodies from the mother.
During these times of uncertainty, we’re all having to change what we do and how we do it—including health care providers who have had to swiftly migrate to telehealth to offer care that doesn’t require patients to travel and visit crowded facilities for treatment. To help meet this urgent need, Penn Nursing is offering its new online training in best practices for telehealth to all health care providers, free of charge, and each completed course provides 2 CEUs.
Data show that the number of people with clinically complex health and social needs is growing. Programs designed to support these adults have fallen short and the healthcare system is becoming overtaxed by these “super-utilizers”.
The number of COVID-19 cases continues to grow. This week’s edition of Amplify Nursing features Elise Tarbi and Brianna Morgan, who are both board-certified Adult-Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioners with advanced certifications in Hospice and Palliative care, as well as doctoral students at Penn Nursing. With demands on both hospitals and providers expanding, and resources predicted to become scarce, there has been heightened public discourse about rationing.
COVID-19 is sweeping across the country with the number of cases rising dramatically. It’s been two weeks since Penn Nursing’s Alison Buttenheim, PhD, a public health researcher and behavioral epidemiologist and Penn Medicine’s Carolyn Cannuscio, ScD, a social epidemiologist, joined Amplify Nursing to discuss the coronavirus. Since a lot has occurred in that time, they are back with an update to discuss where we are at in this pandemic, how it has been handled locally and nationally so far, and what is still to come. Listen here or wherever you listen to podcasts.
RSS
Medicine keyboard_arrow_right
Sciencekeyboard_arrow_right
Life keyboard_arrow_right
Business keyboard_arrow_right
Journal News keyboard_arrow_right
By Location keyboard_arrow_right
Meetings, Grants, and Events keyboard_arrow_right