• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

– 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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.

• share
• favorite_border

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.