College of Medicine investigators take part of COVID-19 “Insights from Experts” series
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Penn State Social Science Research Institute launched a series called “Insights from Experts” in which members of the University community share their expertise.
A number of Penn State College of Medicine faculty have been featured in the series, including those listed here.
The full series, featuring work from across many Penn State campuses and colleges, is available on the SSRI website.
| Date | Topic | Authors | Primary Author’s Affiliation | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 16, 2021 | Treatment and vaccine research and development during the COVID-19 pandemic | Jennifer McCormick, PhD, MPP | Associate Professor, Department of Humanities | The COVID-19 pandemic has set the stage for research and development of new treatments and vaccines targeting the SARs-COV2 virus. Amid these discussions, the public may be hearing terms such as “randomized control trials” and “placebo control trials” and may not be certain what the terms mean or why they are important. McCormick’s article outlines these terms and discusses some of the ethical implications of placebo control trials in the context of vaccine development. |
| Oct. 15, 2020 | COVID-19 and access to controlled substance prescriptions | Chan Shen, PhD | Associate Professor, Department of Surgery
Chief, Division of Outcomes, Research and Quality Member, Penn State Cancer Institute (Cancer Control Program) |
In her article, Shen describes past concerns around the prescribing and use of controlled substances, including opioids and benzodiazepines; the impact of COVID-19 on access to health care and prescription drugs; and recommendations from a study using data in Texas. |
| July 10, 2020 | Staying active during a global pandemic | Danielle Symons Downs, PhD | Professor, Department of Kinesiology (University Park)
Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology Interim Associate Director, Social Science Research Institute (University Park) |
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials, medical professionals, researchers, and messaging from the media have encouraged people of all ages to regularly wash hands, practice social distancing, wear a mask when advised, and to get outdoors and engage in physical activity. In her article, Downs describes how masking and physical activity coincide and the benefits of activity. |
| June 26, 2020 | The impact of COVID-19 on non-COVID care and population health | Joel Segel, PhD | Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Administration (University Park)
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences Member, Penn State Cancer Institute (Cancer Control Program) |
An increasing area of emphasis related to COVID-19 is the profound effect the pandemic has had on non-COVID-related medical care. This has important impacts not only on population health but also the financial health of providers, which can be critical to ensuring ongoing access to care currently and into the future. In his article, Segel describes the potential non-COVID population health impacts of the pandemic and how those may be exacerbated by providers facing financial challenges leading to furloughs and layoffs. |
| June 10, 2020 | Project ECHO at Penn State College of Medicine: Leveraging technology to connect medical providers during the COVID-19 pandemic | Jennifer Kraschnewski, MD, MPH
Co-authors: Erica Francis, MS, and Ellie Hogentogler, BS |
Professor and Vice Chair for Research, Department of Medicine
Division of General Internal Medicine Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences Professor, Department of Pediatrics Member, Penn State Cancer Institute (Cancer Control Program) Co-Lead, Community-Engaged Research Core, Penn State Clinical and Translational Science Institute |
The COVID-19 pandemic and knowledge of this novel disease has pushed the medical communities to identify new ways of learning. When the pandemic hit, medical experts suddenly found themselves facing an illness they knew little about and struggling to rapidly learn about how best to prepare and care for patients. Kraschnewski and team describ ehow, with assistance from Penn State University’s Huck Institute and Social Sciences Research Institute, Penn State Project ECHO at Penn State was rapidly able to mobilize and provide a platform for sharing much-needed, and ever-changing, information on COVID-19. |
| June 3, 2020 | Building community in medical education during the COVID-19 pandemic | Mark Stephens, MD, MS
Co-authors: Thomas Laux, Daniella Lipnick, Ryan Kenney and Lindsay Buzzelli, students, and Jeffrey Wong, MD, and Daniel Wolpaw, MD, University Park Curriculum faculty |
Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Professor, Department of Humanities Professor, University Park Curriculum |
Nearly 30,000 medical students across the United States were displaced from their traditional health care roles in the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic. With relatively little warning or time for preparation, students, faculty and administrators scrambled to create platforms, structures and processes to support learning and find ways to keep students engaged in patient care. This article offers a look inside the impact of COVID-19 on medical education through the eyes of student leaders and faculty in Penn State College of Medicine’s University Park Curriculum. |
| May 27, 2020 | Tests, surgical masks, hospital beds and ventilators: Add big data to the list of tools to fight the coronavirus that are in short supply | Dennis Scanlon, PhD, MA
Co-author: Mark Stephens, MD, MS |
Distinguished Professor, Department of Health Policy and Administration (University Park) | In a recent Business Insider article, author Aaron Short, describes the shortages and shortcomings of available data to guide and inform actions by providers, policymakers, and the public during the COVID-19 pandemic.This topic was also covered by Scanlon and Stephens in commentary in the American Journal of Managed Care. |
| May 20, 2020 | Unintended mental health consequences of isolation precautions for patients hospitalized with COVID-19 | Theodore Demetriou, DO | Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine | As a physician, Demetriou has seen first-hand the mental health toll that the novel coronavirus is playing on patients hospitalized with the disease. In this article, he presents the problem and a potential way to mitigate the damaging effects of isolation on patients’ mental health. |
| May 15, 2020 | Knowledge, perceptions and preferred information sources related to COVID-19 | Robert Lennon, MD, JD
Co-authors: Lauren Van Scoy, MD, Erin Miller and Bethany Snyder, MPH |
Associate Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine
Associate Professor, Penn State Law (University Park) |
Until there is a vaccine or a cure, information is the most powerful weapon to fight a pandemic infection. Effective communication is therefore recognized as a critical element of successfully managing a pandemic response – for the disease spread to be contained, the public must comply with public health recommendations. This research group created an exploratory mixed-methods survey of central Pennsylvania residents to generate actionable data during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have since modified it to a convergent design mixed-methods survey for the global population. |
| May 4, 2020 | Delaying treatment initiation for cancer patients: Implications for the COVID-19 pandemic | Nicholas Zaorsky, MD, MS
Co-authors: Ming Wang, MS, PhD, Vonn Walter, PhD, Niraj Gusani, MD, Daniel Spratt, MD, Alok Khorana, MD, and Christopher Hollenbeak, PhD |
Assistant Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology
Assistant Professor, Department of Public Health Sciences Member, Penn State Cancer Institute (Cancer Control Program) |
The emergence of COVID-19 has required a re-prioritization of healthcare resources in many dimensions. Cancer is a leading cause of death in the developed world, and cancer patients have been particularly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This article by Zaorsky and team explores ways to triage cancer patients by adjusting the time to treatment initiation. |
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