Skip to Content Skip to Content

Behavioral Health

Can music improve anxiety and depression for people with memory disorders?
Two women and a man playing large bongo drums.

Mary Javian, chair of career studies at the Curtis Institute, Tempy Small, a program participant, and Adam Pangburn, coordinator of community performance at Curtis, participated in a drum circle to close out the final “Creative Expression through Music” session. Nick DiBerardino (not pictured) lead the classes, which were coordinated by Penn graduate students Sarah Bujno and Matt Volpe (in the background).

Can music improve anxiety and depression for people with memory disorders?

That’s the aim of a recently completed pilot program connecting Penn Memory Center patients, Penn graduate students, and Curtis Institute musicians.

Michele W. Berger

A new, virtual tool in the very real fight against opioid overdoses
Students holding up cardboard virtual reality reader devices.

Students in the Penn School of Nursing test out a virtual reality training for administering the drug Narcan in the event of an opioid overdose. Results from this experiment led researchers to conclude that such simulation sessions could be as effective for training health care providers on the topic as in-person simulation training sessions.

A new, virtual tool in the very real fight against opioid overdoses

Researchers from Penn Nursing and the Annenberg School have found that an immersive Narcan training video is as effective as in-person simulation trainings.

Michele W. Berger

Does teen cannabis use lead to behavior problems—or vice versa?
two teens smoking on a rooftop

Does teen cannabis use lead to behavior problems—or vice versa?

Research led by the Annenberg Public Policy Center finds that cannabis use among teens does not appear to lead to greater conduct problems or greater affiliation with other teens who smoke cannabis, which previous research had suggested to be possible.

Penn Today Staff

Black and Hispanic Americans have a harder time quitting cigarettes. Will this Penn study find a way to help?

Black and Hispanic Americans have a harder time quitting cigarettes. Will this Penn study find a way to help?

Researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine, led by Scott Halpern, are exploring better ways to support smoking cessation in black and Latino populations. “We’re confident that if we succeed in producing this evidence, health systems and payers will respond,” Halpern said.

Penn study: Marijuana doesn’t cause bad behavior — it’s the other way around

Penn study: Marijuana doesn’t cause bad behavior — it’s the other way around

A new study, co-authored by Dan Romer of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, has found that marijuana may not be the “gateway drug” it was once thought to be. “Previous research had suggested that using marijuana would lead to conduct problems,” said Romer. “We found the exact reverse.”

Workplace pumping made easier
Dare Henry-Moss leaning against the doorway of a new lactation room, with a breast pump in the background

Dare Henry-Moss, an adjunct fellow at the Center for Public Health Initiatives, developed a recommendation plan for improving lactation support for the University of Pennsylvania Health System, including conducting a needs assessment intended to guide standards for such spaces.

Workplace pumping made easier

Listening to employee feedback, Penn Medicine added hospital-grade pumps and doubled its lactation spaces, taking strides to help women meet their breastfeeding goals.

Michele W. Berger

Sleep and exercise compete for people’s time

Sleep and exercise compete for people’s time

Mathias Basner of the Perelman School of Medicine has led a study that analyzed American Time Use Survey data to see how people spend their time. “We all have 24 hours in a day, so for the people who only sleep five or six hours, are they doing a healthy behavior or sitting in front of the TV eating chips?” said Basner. “We’ve been trying to identify activities that could be traded for more sleep.”