A call for answers for the ‘Three Identical Strangers’

Feb 8, 2019

UPenn PRC Director, Karen Glanz, MPH, PhD and Holly Fernandez Lynch of Penn’s Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, shine a light on the responsibilities of the research ethics community when it comes to deceptive experiments like the 1960’s study featured in Three Identical Strangers.

Read the article here.

The opinion piece was published in Stat News, just in time for the release of the documentary on CNN and a BAFTA nomination for the filmmakers. Penn News Today featured the article in their February 11, 2019 issue here.

Nominated for Best Documentary in 2019

Karen Glanz named Associate Director and Program Leader at the Abramson Cancer Center

Nov 27, 2018

Monday, November 26, 2018, Abramson Cancer Center director, Robert Vonderheide and deputy director, Katherine Nathanson announced the appointment of Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH as Associate Director for Community Engaged Research and Leader for the Cancer Control Program.

“Dr. Glanz is the George A. Weiss University Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Nursing, as one of Penn’s distinguished Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professors. Dr. Glanz is director of the federally funded UPenn Prevention Research Center. Dr. Glanz is a behavioral scientist with public health expertise. Her basic and translational research in community and healthcare settings focuses on obesity, nutrition, and the built environment; reduction of health disparities; and novel health communication technologies. She has made important and sustained contributions to cancer prevention and control.  With more than 480 publications and designation as a Most Highly-Cited Author over the past 20 years (top 0.5% of authors in the field), Dr. Glanz’s scholarship has been consistently interdisciplinary and highly influential in advancing the science of understanding, predicting, and changing health-related behavior. Dr. Glanz is an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, served on the US Task Force on Community Preventive Services for 10 years, and is a current member of the NHLBI Advisory Council.  Dr. Glanz has been a valued member of the Cancer Control Program at the ACC since 2009.”

The Cancer Control Program is a transdisciplinary Program composed of members who focus on the identification of the genetic, behavioral, and health care determinants of cancer susceptibility and the development and implementation of strategies to lower risk and improve outcomes.

Dr. Glanz will step into the role previously held by Marilyn Schapira, MD, MPH, Principal Investigator on the UPenn PRC Economic Impact of Clinical Trials for Childhood Cancer Project. Dr. Schapira will continue to work with the Cancer Control Program at Abramson Cancer Center and teach medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine.

How far will you go to prevent skin cancer? Penn researchers look at the options

Oct 23, 2018

A study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, where Penn researchers evaluate the beliefs in sun protection behaviors versus the risk of skin cancer.

It is known that practicing multiple behaviors against harmful UV rays, yet few adults report practicing more than one recommended behavior. This study examines how far a person is willing to go to prevent damage from UV rays, and which prevention measure is used most frequently.

Read the paper here

 

Bleakley A, Lazovich D, Jordan AB, Glanz K. Compensation Behaviors and Skin Cancer Prevention, American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 55, Issue 6, December 2018, Pages 848-855

 

Read more about the Skin Cancer Communication Project here.

Linking a Child’s Environment to Obesity

Sep 4, 2018

The Issue

There is a global childhood obesity epidemic and researchers in the United States are working toward solutions, including prevention. Compared to adults, there has been relatively little research linking a child’s environment to their weight. This report was published in The Obesity Journal on August 23,2018. It is a continuation of findings from the Neighborhood Impact on Kids (NIK) study, and focuses on both physical activity and nutrition environments. Two factors that can affect a child’s weight, in addition to behavioral factors, like daily energy intake and sedentary behavior.

The Study

A team of researchers gathered data twice over a two year span, in four types of different metropolitan neighborhoods in two large cities. They looked at several factors, like the age of the parents and the proximity of a quality park, then compared these data for each child to the child’s BMI. A favorable neighborhood in the study had a supermarket nearby with good nutrition and a quality park within walking distance of the child’s home. Less favorable neighborhoods had fast food easily accessible, no supermarkets nearby and nowhere for the children to play within a 1/2 mile. The findings looked at whether the neighborhood characteristics predicted the children outcomes going forward over the two years of the study.

As a result, the study showed that children living in less favorable neighborhoods were 41% to 49% more likely to be overweight, and that these effects were found across two years. City planners and developers can use this evidence when designing neighborhoods that support healthy families.

The Importance of Environments

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, a co-author on the study, noted “This study is unique and important in that it allowed us to make clear comparisons between ‘healthier’ and ‘less healthy’ food and activity environments over multiple years. The findings underscore how important environments can be in shaping behaviors and the health of children.”

Neighborhoods Impact on Kids (NIK) is an observational study, evaluating cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of neighborhood-level activity and nutrition environments with children’s weight status and obesity. The study is led by Dr. Brian Saelens, currently at Seattle Children’s Hospital.

View the article

Evaluating Healthy Vending Policies for Youth in Four Cities – Report Now Available

Jul 30, 2018

Best Practices

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH and her team recently conducted an evaluation of healthy vending policies and initiatives affecting youth in four cities.

  • Chicago Parks District in Chicago, Illinois
  • Mecklenburg County, North Carolina
  • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
  • Springdale, Arkansas.

Vending machines are a common source for low nutrient, energy-dense snacks and beverages. Consequently, youth can easily access vending machines at many public spaces such as parks, recreation centers, and swimming pools. Increasing the availability of healthier options in vending machines is one way to influence healthier snacking behaviors. Furthermore, it is aligned with the CDC recommendation for communities to make healthier food and beverage options more readily available in public venues.

Many cities are beginning to adopt healthy vending policies in public areas, but more could be done to develop, implement, and evaluate these healthy vending polices is limited.

 

The Design

This study used a mixed-methods, multiple-case study design and included semi-structured interviews with multiple stakeholders from each city. The site visits at each city included surveys with adults using the vending machines and observations of the available products in vending machines. In addition to a review of documents, including nutrition standards, policies, requests for proposals (RFPs), vending contracts, sales data, and any existing evaluation tools were collected from each site.

The research findings are summarized in this report. It describes the major similarities and differences across four cites/counties who chose healthy vending practices. The report emphasizes what works and what doesn’t when developing, executing, and evaluating healthy vending policies and initiatives.


This research was supported by Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

 Evaluating Healthy Vending Policies for Youth in Four Cities

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH; Julie Bromberg, MHS; Yasaman Mirafzali; Sarah Green, MPH

Download the full report

Coverage of Hawaii’s ban on certain sunscreens and the risks involved

Apr 2, 2018

Preserve Marine Ecosystems

Hawaii proposed and then passed a bill banning sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate in order to “preserve marine ecosystems.” PRC director and Penn professor, Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, co-authored an op-ed for the Honolulu Star-Advertiser titled, “Suncreens save lives, have limited impact on coral reefs.” Dr. Glanz was on a sabbatical for the first part of 2018, and served as a Visiting Professor at the University of Hawaii Cancer Center. Together with Kevin Cassel, president of the Hawaii Skin Cancer Coalition, the piece was published, March 29, 2018.

Acknowledging health factors and disparities

Glanz and Cassel start by acknowledging that sunscreen is a key factor in preventing skin cancer. Furthermore, they call on legislators to fund more research on the ingredients in sunscreen and the effects they have on Hawaii’s natural resources.

Their article caught the attention of the local media and they called on Dr. Glanz to present her views on the impact this decision could have on those at risk for skin cancer. In addition, they bring light to the higher price for sunscreens that don’t contain those ingredients. This could prevent people from purchasing those products. “The cost of these so-called reef-friendly products for sunscreen ranges anywhere from two times to as much as six to eight times as much as what is on the shelves now.” She points out that it isn’t just beachgoers that are affected, there are a number of jobs in Hawaii requiring people to work outside and they could be the most at risk.

Resources

READ the article here.
WATCH Karen’s interview with Hawaii News Now ↓
LISTEN to her interview with SiriusXM, Knowledge@Wharton with Dan Loney on May 17, 2018. ↓

Mahealani Richardson of Hawaii News Now interviewed Karen Glanz and Kevin Cassel on this topic and the story aired April 4, 2018. After Hawaii passes the legislation, Ms. Richardson shares an update.

Click here to see the story on Hawaii News Now.

 

LISTEN TO THE PODCAST

by Karen Glanz on Knowledge@Wharton

Listen to Karen’s interview with Dan Loney at SiriusXM Knowledge@Wharton, (Wharton Business Radio) on May 17, 2018 HERE.

A national survey of young women’s beliefs about quitting indoor tanning: implications for health communication messages

Mar 23, 2018

Indoor tanning is a risk factor for skin cancer, particularly among young, white women. Our researchers found that persuasive health messages that encourage young women to quit indoor tanning should focus on their beliefs that it helps their appearance and mood, rather than the health risks.

20% of our nation’s young, white women indoor tan, knowing the risk of skin cancer. In November and December of 2015, a national online  survey was conducted with 279 non-Hispanic white women, ages 18-25 in the United States, who indoor tan.

This survey investigated the young women’s beliefs and attitudes as well as social influences that kept them from quitting.

“Young women were most concerned about skin damage and that quitting tanning might affect their mood,” says Amy Bleakley PhD, MPH, lead author of the study. “It was interesting that quitting tanning to prevent skin cancer did not motivate their intention to quit. Health messages that focus on appearance and mood instead of skin cancer may be more effective in encouraging young women to quit indoor tanning.”

Researchers suggest that health messages from doctors, parents and other loved ones aimed at discouraging indoor tanning should highlight the belief that quitting indoor tanning will reduce skin damage. In addition, messages should counter the belief that quitting will make them less happy. Finally, messages should highlight key people who would approve of them quitting indoor tanning.

Read the article here.

 

Amy Bleakley, Amy Jordan, Morgan E Ellithorpe, DeAnn Lazovich, Sara Grossman, Karen Glanz

Translational Behavioral Medicine, ibx007, https://doi.org/10.1093/tbm/ibx007
Published: March 15, 2018

 

PIK Seminar on Health Disparities

Dec 7, 2017

On November 29, 2017, three of University of Pennsylvania’s distinguished professors presented their collaboration on Health Disparities in the second PIK seminar. Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) is a program where the hand-picked professors collaborate and “bring knowledge together across disciplines and use that knowledge to illuminate some of the most fundamental issues of our time.”

Sarah Tishkoff, Dorothy Roberts, and Karen Glanz with Provost Wendell Pritchett.

The speakers:

  • Karen Glanz, MPH, PhD of Perelman School of Medicine and School of Nursing
  • Sarah Tishkoff, PhD of the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences
  • Dorothy Roberts, JD of Penn Law and School of Arts and Sciences
  • Introduction by Provost Wendell Pritchett.

They presented their ideas on Health Disparities: Integrating Knowledge from Genomics, Social Sciences and Law to a group of about 140 at the Law Auditorium in the Jordan Medical Education Center. There was a live-stream of the presentation for those that couldn’t make it.

You can view the live-stream video of the seminar HERE.
Each presentation is also featured on the Penn LDI site HERE.

After taking questions, the speakers and audience continued the conversation at a reception in the beautiful atrium.

 

The atrium at Jordan Medical Education Center.

PRC Director, Karen Glanz Appointed to The Editorial Board: American Journal of Preventive Medicine

Oct 19, 2017

Karen Glanz, PhD, MPH, was recently appointed to the Editorial Board for the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. “Members of the AJPM editorial board perform myriad services for the journal including peer reviewing, recommending reviewers in their areas of expertise, serving as guest editors for supplements and themes, and acting as ambassadors for the journal. Our editorial board members are key to helping AJPM stay at the forefront of preventive medicine and public health.”

 

Read more from the AJPM in their recent newletter here.

Community Scholars In-Residence 2017-2018

Sep 28, 2017

Congratulations to our Community Scholars In-Residence for 2017-2018

Akin Oyalowo, M.D.

Joseph Benci Ph.D., MPH

Yujue Wang, M.D., Ph.D.

 

Through this program—

  • Scholars develop relationships with a community research partner of their choosing, identify research opportunities, and co-develop research projects during a one year tenure
  • Project topics fall under a broad spectrum of cancer prevention and control topics including primary prevention, access to care, minority populations, and epidemiology
  • Standing pre/post docs with an interest in conducting community-engaged health research are eligible for this program

 

We look forward to working with our next cohort of scholars as they increase their research capacity by developing relationships with community partners, establishing best practices in community-engaged research, and leveraging activities for scholarship and improved health outcomes!

 

Presentations: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium April 2017

May 31, 2017

Click the links below to view the a pdf of each presenter’s slides. You can find more information on the symposium here.

 

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017 Keynote : Margo Wootan

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017 Keynote : Mariana Chilton

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017 : Alice Ammerman

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017 : Cheryl Bettigole

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017: Jamie Chriqui

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017: Tracy Fox

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017: Allison Karpyn

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017 : Carolyn Johnson

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017 : Stephenie Lemon

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017: Yael Lehman and Brian Lang

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017: Jennifer Pomeranz

POWERPOINT: UPenn PRC Food/Obesity Symposium 2017: Amy Yaroch

Congratulations to Penn undergrad Ben Young & collaborators on winning the Franklin SP2 Social Innovation Prize for The Fresh Box

May 31, 2017

from left to right:

Marc Singer (judge), Nadya Shmavonian (judge), Danielle Wolfe (judge), Fresh Box team members Lauren Kruglinski, Benjamin Young, and Robin Kendall, Julie Franklin (funder of the prize), Kat Rosqueta (executive director, Center for High Impact Philanthropy), and former Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael A. Nutter (judge.)

 

Congratulations to Ben Young and his collaborators on winning the Franklin SP2 Social Innovation Prize for their project “The Fresh Box” which seeks to address the problem of food deserts.  Ben served on the Planning Committee for the UPenn PRC Symposium “Accelerating Policies and Research on Food Access, Diet, and Obesity Prevention” this past April.

https://penncurrent.upenn.edu/news/inaugural-franklin-sp2-social-innovation-prize-winners-to-tackle-food-deserts?utm_source=Primary&utm_campaign=84b2c4f55b-Penn_Current_Express_&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_3777f2ca8f-84b2c4f55b-43396837