Description of Research Expertise
Eugenia South, MD MS is an Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. South’s research focuses on how neighborhood context impacts health and safety in urban environments. She is interested in understanding the ways in which the physical attributes of where people live, work, and play influence chronic stress, cardiovascular and mental health, and violent crime. She worked with the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society to pilot a randomized controlled trial of vacant lot greening, the first prospective experimental analysis of a community greening intervention. This trial found that people felt safer after greening, a trend toward decreased violent crime, and physiologic evidence of decreased stress. This work resulted in several published manuscripts and has been featured in national media outlets including NPR, the Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Washington Post, as well as multiple international media outlets. Currently, Dr. South is developing several projects, including an evaluation of the impact of abandoned building remediation on chronic stress, and an evaluation of NatureRx, a park prescription program aimed at increased youth exposure to urban green space.
Selected Publications
Ortiz R, Joseph J, Branas C, MacDonald M, Nguemeni M, Oyekanmi K, South E: Advancing Health Equity through Integrated Biology and Population Health Research: A community-based sample cortisol feasibility and exploratory study Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology : 2022.
Alur R, Hall E, Khatri U, Jacoby S, South EC, Kaufman E: Law Enforcement in the Emergency Department: A Structured Social Observation JAMA Surgery : 2022.
Nguemeni Tiako MJ, Ray V, South EC: Medical schools as racialized organizations: How race-neutral structures sustain racial inequality in medical education Journal of General Internal Medicine : 2022.
Khatri U, South EC, Delgado M, Friedman A: Racial Disparities in the Management of Emergency Department Patients Presenting with Psychiatric Disorders Annals of Epidemiology 69 : 2022.
Nguemeni Tiako MJ, Meinhofer A, Friedman A, South EC, Epstein RL, Meisel ZF, Morgan J: Buprenorphine Uptake During Pregnancy Following the 2017 Guidelines Update on Prenatal Opioid Use Disorder
Am J Obstet Gynecol : 2022.
Khatri UG, Bilger A, Zeidan A, Meisel Z, Delgado M.K., Samuels-Kalow M, South E: “A catch-22”: A firsthand account of barriers and facilitators to accessing health care during reentry Journal of Correctional Health Care 28 (2): 109-116,2022.
South EC, Lee K, Oyekanmi K, Buckler D, Nguemeni Tiako MJ, Martin T, Kornfield S, Srinivas S: Nurtured in Nature: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Increase Time in Greenspace Among Urban Dwelling Postpartum Women Journal of Urban Health 98 (6): 2021.
Aronowitz SV, Engel-Rebitzer E, Lowenstein M, Meisel ZF, Anderson E, South EC: “We have to be uncomfortable and creative”: Reflections on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on overdose prevention, harm reduction & homelessness advocacy in Philadelphia SSM - Qualitative Research in Health 1 : 2021.
Aronowitz SV, Engel-Rebitzer E, Dolan A, Oyekanmi K, Mandell D, Meisel Z, South E, Lowenstein M: Telehealth for opioid use disorder treatment in low-barrier clinic settings: an exploration of clinician and staff perspectives Harm Reduct J 18 (1): 119,2021.
Vasan A, South EC: Children are suffering from gun violence — even if it’s blocks away from their home The Washington Post : 2021.
Academic Contact Information
University of Pennsylvania Hospital
Department of Emergency Medicine
3400 Spruce Street - Ground Ravdin
Philadelphia,
PA
19104
Phone: 215-746-5609