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

Seeburger EF, Gonzales R, South EC, Friedman AB, Agarwal AK: Qualitative Perspectives of Emergency Nurses on Electronic Health Record Behavioral Flags to Promote Workplace Safety JAMA Netw Open 6 (4): e238957,2023.

Unachukwu IC, Abrams MP, Dolan A, Oyekemi K, Meisel ZF, South EC, Aronowitz SV: "The new normal has become a nonstop crisis": a qualitative study of burnout among Philadelphia's harm reduction and substance use disorder treatment workers during the COVID-19 pandemic Harm Reduct J 20 (1): 2023.

MacDonald J, Jacobowitz A, Gravel J, Smith M, Stokes R, Tam V, South EC, Branas C: Lessons Learned From a Citywide Abandoned Housing Experiment Journal of the American Planning Association : 2023.

Agarwal AK, Seeburger E, O'Neill G, Nwakanma CC, Marsh LE, Soltany KA, South EC, Friedman AB: Prevalence of Behavioral Flags in the Electronic Health Record Among Black and White Patients Visiting the Emergency Department JAMA Netw Open 6 (1): e2251734,2023.

South EC, MacDonald J, Tam V, Ridgeway G, Branas C: Effect of Abandoned Housing Interventions on Gun Violence, Perceptions of Safety, and Substance Use in Black Neighborhoods A Citywide Cluster Randomized Trial JAMA Intern Med 183 (1): 31-39,2023.

Agarwal AK, Sagan C, Gonzales R, Nijim S, Merchant RM, Asch DA, South EC: Assessing Experiences of Racism Among Black and White Patients in the Emergency Department J Am Coll Emerg Physicians Open 2022 3 (6:e12870): 2022.

Jay J, Kondo MC, Lyons VH, Gause E, South EC: Neighborhood segregation, tree cover and firearm violence in 6 U.S. cities, 2015-2020 Prev Med 165 (Pt A:107256): 2022.

South EC, Venkataramani A, Dalembert G.: Building Black Wealth: The Role of Health Systems in Closing the Gap New England Journal of Medicine 137 (9): 844-849,2022.

Alur R, Hall E, Khatri U, Jacoby S, South EC, Kaufman E: Law Enforcement in the Emergency Department: A Structured Social Observation JAMA Surgery 157 (9): 852-854,2022.

Dalembert G, Venkataramani A, South EC: How health systems can truly value Black lives: help close the racial wealth gap STAT News : 2022.

Academic Contact Information

University of Pennsylvania Hospital
Department of Emergency Medicine
3400 Spruce Street - Ground Ravdin
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Phone: 215-746-5609