News Blog

The first of the month is approaching, and a record number of Americans will not be able to pay their rent on time, as the COVID-19 pandemic has left millions unemployed. A study led by a University of Pennsylvania epidemiologist offers a cautionary tale about the collision of these two national crises: Even a low rate of evictions would significantly accelerate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 throughout the entire country, the research team’s preliminary findings show.

“Research has shown that goal-directed thinking and goal setting along with finding pathways and renewing motivation can help bring a sense of self and accomplishment to those who feel hopeless,” Nurse Manager Lauren Firman, MHA, said. “As with any illness, finding hope may not be the cure, but it allows you to move forward and get to the next level of healing.”

In a little over a month since the first vaccines were authorized for emergency use, there have been more than 16 million COVID-19 vaccine shots administered in the United States, but even as millions more people are eager to get the vaccine as soon as possible, not all of those who are eligible already have taken the opportunity. Vaccine hesitancy is one reason why — and it can make racial and ethnic disparities in the impact of COVID-19 even worse.

Some people are just born to be nurses. Chester County Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care (NICU) nurse Victoria DiBerardino, BSN, RN, is one of those people. For as long as she or her mother can remember, DiBerardino has wanted to be a nurse. Specifically, a nurse who works with babies. It’s a calling that may have had a lot to do with the first few weeks of DiBerardino’s life.

In this Q&A, Rachel Talley, MD, a clinical assistant professor of Psychiatry in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, discussed public psychiatry, the impact of COVID-19 on community mental health, and how she went from an internship at the White House to championing public health at Penn’s department of Psychiatry.

Stress and anxiety, language barriers, and low health literacy can limit comprehension, breed frustration, and make patients and caregivers feel like they’re incapable of making informed decisions. When facing these obstacles, many physicians turn to a different form of communication: drawing.

For Iris Reyes, MD, a professor of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, getting the COVID-19 vaccine was a no brainer.

In January 2020, when we were yelling across crowded restaurants, elbow to elbow in darkened movie theaters, and shaking hands with strangers, the idea that we would face a global pandemic was unthinkable.

Twitter is noisy — which makes it a perfect tool for bioinformatics experts like Graciela Gonzalez-Hernandez, PhD, who study language to help improve health outcomes.

For years, the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania has been bridging the great physical distance between the Penn campus in Philadelphia and places around the world, largely through Penn’s Center for Global Health.