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Lead is an environmental neurotoxicant that causes neurocognitive deficits and cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. It also disproportionately affects socially disadvantaged communities. 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. Three University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) studies shed light on how lead can affect children and adolescents’ physiological stress and emotional/behavioral development.

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Of the more than 200,000 women in U.S. federal and state prisons and jails, it is estimated that up to 10% are pregnant and will give birth while incarcerated. Clinical practice guidelines to support breastfeeding and increase infants’ access to human milk are well established. However, little data assess the extent to which they are modifiable or applicable for incarcerated mothers.

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The Frontline Health Workers Digital Theater Project uses the viewpoints of those working in the Penn Medicine health system (transport, nurses, doctors, etc.) as inspiration for virtual theatrical performances created by playwrights from Elevate Theatre Company, LLC in partnership with Penn Nursing.

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University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing) faculty J. Margo Brooks Carthon, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Adriana Perez, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN, are guest editors of the April 2022 special edition of the journal Research in Nursing & Health. The Issue “Health Equity and Social Determinants of Health” is the first of its kind published by a nursing research journal.

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Approximately 23,700 children in the U.S. undergo invasive mechanical ventilation for acute respiratory failure annually. Although most survive, little is known if they have worse long-term neurocognitive function than children who do not undergo such procedures. There are concerns about neurotoxic effects of critical illness and its treatment on the developing brain. Therefore, infants and young children may be uniquely susceptible to adverse neurocognitive outcomes after invasive mechanical ventilation.

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The University of Pennsylvania today announced the Leonard A. Lauder Community Care Nurse Practitioner Program, which will recruit and prepare a diverse cadre of expert nurse practitioners to provide primary care to individuals and families in underserved communities across the U.S. The $125 million donation by Leonard A. Lauder, Chairman Emeritus of The Estee Lauder Companies, to create this first-of-its-kind, tuition-free Program is the largest gift ever to an American nursing school.

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Patients physically recovering from traumatic injury are at risk for experiencing psychological distress, particularly depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Early identification of depression and PTSD risk while under the care of the trauma service is essential to supporting the comprehensive recovery of injured patients.

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On July 15, 2021, the U.S. Surgeon General issued an urgent plea for all Americans to take part in slowing a serious threat to public health. He wasn’t talking about the COVID-19 pandemic but rather the harmful effects on personal and public health caused by the infodemic – the creation and spread of an excessive amount of unreliable and false health information.

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Children who survive critical illness and their parents commonly experience physical, emotional, and cognitive conditions as a result of the critical illness. These effects can also include prolonged absences from school and/or work. What has not been fully understood is the rate and duration of school absences among these children and work absences among their caregivers.

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In order for nurses to lead in health and health care innovation, schools of nursing and nursing programs must think strategically about the knowledge and skills the next generation of nurses will need and then support those innovation needs at all levels of research, education, and practice.

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It is not uncommon for people with opioid-related conditions, including opioid dependence and opioid use disorder (OUD), to be regularly hospitalized to treat infections, trauma, or other emergent conditions. Data show that patients with substance use disorders (SUD) are much more likely to self-discharge against medical advice than patients admitted for similar conditions without SUDs. This can lead to poorer health outcomes including worsening illness, readmissions, and death.

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Gabriela Meléndez-Peláez, a Guatemalan nurse-midwife, maternal health advocate, and the Founder of Asociación Corazón del Agua, will receive the 2022 Penn Nursing Renfield Foundation Award for Global Women’s Health for her tireless work in addressing maternal health inequities in Guatemala. The award ceremony will be held virtually on March 29, 2022.

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Black men are disproportionately impacted by injuries in the United States. This disparity is glaring given that injury is one of the top ten causes of death. Data show that injured Black men from disadvantaged neighborhoods experience higher injury mortality, years of life-expectancy loss, and psychological symptoms that persist after initial wounds have been treated.

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A new study published today in Health Affairs shows that Medicare support for clinical training for nurse practitioners would increase their numbers and address the national shortage of primary care. The study, by researchers at the Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics shows that universities participating in the $200 million Graduate Nurse Education (GNE) Demonstration significantly increased the number of primary care NPs they graduated.

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– The Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech) seeks to explore the use of artificial intelligence and other technologies to improve in-home care for older adults and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. The Collaboratory will leverage extensive expertise in artificial intelligence, consumer informatics and aging, access to patient cohorts and resources of Penn’s School of Nursing, the Perelman School of Medicine, and other departments across the University of Pennsylvania.

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The majority of individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) face access barriers to evidence-based treatment. While the COVID-19 pandemic offered an opportunity to address OUD treatment access barriers by allowing for expanded use of telehealth, is it not yet clear if this technology will help eliminate those barriers or exacerbate pre-existing treatment inequities.

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Studies suggest that exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with a variety of different mental health consequences including reports of depression, loneliness, and insomnia. People who are more than 65 years of age and those with underlying medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes and obesity are particularly vulnerable to negative outcomes from COVID-19. Until now, few investigations have identified and separated the mental health consequences of exposure to the COVID-19 pandemic from preexisting factors in this age group. A new prospective study of a large cohort of older adults with type 2 diabetes and overweight/obesity from across the U.S. has explored this subject with surprising results.

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Race is not genetic. Race is a social and political construct. However, the conflation of race and genetics is one way that racism persists in medicine and research.

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Penn Nursing’s Susan Renz, PhD, DNP, GNP-BC, Primary Care Program Director and Practice Associate Professor in the Department of Family and Community Health, will receive a 2021 Distinguished Gerontological Nurse Educator award from the National Hartford Center of Gerontological Nursing Excellence (NHCGNE). The awards will be presented at the NHCGNE Leadership Conference to be held virtually, October 26 – 28, 2021.

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Penn Nursing Dean Antonia Villarruel is set to receive the 2021 Health Care Leader Award from the American Academy of Nursing (Academy). The award recognizes her incredible impact in shaping health policy. It will be presented during the 2021 Health Policy Conference, Healthy Lives for All People: Advancing Equity, Science, and Trust, being held in a hybrid format October 7-9, 2021.

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Racial minorities are disproportionately affected by stroke, with Black patients experiencing worse post-stroke outcomes than White patients. Racial disparities in stroke outcomes have been linked to suboptimal control of risk factors such as hypertension, lack of access to health care, and decreased utilization of neurologic services. However, it was previously unknown if outcomes for Black ischemic stroke patients were affected by care settings with insufficient nursing resources.

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Modest weight loss can lead to meaningful risk reduction in adults with obesity. Although both behavioral economic incentives and environmental change strategies have shown promise for initial weight loss, to date their efficacy alone or in combination have not been compared.

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PHILADELPHIA (September 13, 2021) – Penn Nursing’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing is the number one undergraduate nursing program in the nation according to the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges rankings. What makes this designation even more special is that this is the first year the national magazine has ranked undergraduate nursing programs and Penn Nursing takes the top spot.

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According to a new study published today in Medical Care, hospitals that employ more inpatient nurse practitioners (NPs) have lower surgical mortality, higher patient satisfaction, and lower costs of care. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses (RNs) with advanced graduate education and expanded legal scope of practice to prescribe treatments including pain medications.

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The Association of Nurses in AIDS Care (ANAC) honors research led by Anne Teitelman, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, Associate Professor Emerita in Penn Nursing’s Department of Family and Community Health, as the 2021 JANAC (Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care) Article of the Year.

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A research team led by Penn Nursing’s Jie Deng, PhD, RN, OCN, FAAN, Associate Professor of Nursing in the Department of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, has been approved for a $3 million funding award by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) to study lymphedema management in head and neck cancer survivors.