As Pennsylvania has responded to the opioid crisis, Dennis Scanlon, director of the Center for Health Care and Policy Research and Distinguished Professor of Health Policy and Administration, has worked with the Commonwealth to quantify the harms of the epidemic and help plan the state’s response.
Childhood obesity affects one in six American children. Penn State’s Center for Childhood Obesity Research partners with Head Start programs to help children learn to regulate their eating behavior.
The Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic has always served the community, but it also contributes to Penn State’s research and educational missions. The research and education conducted through the clinic have, in turn, improved the services available to the public.
In the last 10 years, Penn State has taken unprecedented steps to address child abuse and neglect through ground-breaking, interdisciplinary research. Penn State’s training, outreach, and research are making a difference across the nation.
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 25% of all deaths can be linked to an environmental contributing cause, suggesting changes made to our surroundings could prevent or forestall deaths across the globe. The college seeks to improve societal well-being through environmental-health science.
Once a person exceeds the temperature where their body can cool itself, they continue to heat up, which can cause health problems. As climate change makes extreme heat more common, researchers are studying temperature limits that people can tolerate.
Farmworkers in the United States are exposed to pesticides, machinery, and other potential hazards. Researchers are working to provide the protective equipment and the health literacy needed to improve farmworkers’ well-being.
Research shows that exposure to nature has benefits. Expeditions—immersive trips into nature—challenge participants’ capacity, endurance, and decision making. In doing so, expeditions improve self-confidence, planning, and teamwork.
Much can be learned about the health of both a mother and her newborn by examining the placenta. Penn State faculty developed and patented software to evaluate a placenta with only a photograph, and they are working to improve and disseminate their innovation to people who need it.
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