CHIBEblog

Mar 01 2021
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Vote for Penn Project in 2021 STAT Madness Competition

By CHIBEblog

Vote in the STAT Madness competition for best innovations in biomedicine for a University of Pennsylvania project (Matchup 18) involving several CHIBE members! The project, which is titled “AI Prompts Critical Conversation” in the competition, is about Penn’s work using machine learning and behavioral nudges to prompt clinicians to start serious illness conversations among patients with cancer. Read the JAMA Oncology paper here: “Effect of Integrating Machine Learning Mortality Estimates With Behavioral Nudges to Clinicians on Serious Illness Conversations Among Patients With Cancer.” STAT Madness describes the project: “Many cancer patients die without having talked to their doctor about their…

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Feb 25 2021
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Dr. Buttenheim Provides Testimony to House Science, Space, and Technology Committee on Vaccine Science

By CHIBEblog

Alison Buttenheim, PhD, MBA, Associate Professor of Nursing and Health Policy and CHIBE’s Scientific Director, provided testimony on vaccine science to the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Science, Space, and Technology on February 19, 2021. As part of her testimony, Dr. Buttenheim provided 5 science-based recommendations that she hoped Congress would endorse, fund, and promote: 1. “Embrace the dual goal of vaccinating efficiently and equitably.” “We have to be deliberate, intentional, and innovative in our approach to both tracking and achieving those complementary goals,” Dr. Buttenheim said. 2. “Fix the easy stuff.” While hesitancy is a barrier to vaccination,…

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Feb 24 2021
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vaccine administration

Could Text-Based Nudges Boost Flu Vaccine Uptake?

By CHIBEblog

What kind of text — from your doctor’s office or your pharmacy — might nudge you to get your flu vaccine? This was a question explored in two new mega studies looking at text-based nudges by the Behavior Change for Good Initiative (BCFG) and the Penn Medicine Nudge Unit, which both include CHIBE affiliates. One of the studies involved over 47,000 participants and tested 19 different nudges within Penn Medicine and Geisinger health systems. They found that certain texts that were sent prior to a visit to a primary care provider could increase vaccination rates by up to 11%. The…

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Feb 11 2021
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COVID-19

Team to Examine Strategies to Increase COVID-19 Testing Rates

By CHIBEblog

A team involving two CHIBE members—CHIBE Associate Director Harsha Thirumurthy, PhD, and Message Effects Lab Director Jessica Fishman, PhD—has been awarded NIH funding to test strategies to increase COVID-19 testing rates. The other team members are Cedric Bien-Gund, MD; and Robert Gross, MD, MSCE, both from the Perelman School of Medicine’s Division of Infectious Diseases. To their knowledge, this group is the first to implement or test whether secondary distribution of COVID-19 self-tests by individuals to others in their social networks can promote SARS-CoV-2 testing. Their recent JAMA Network Open paper found high motivation to distribute COVID-19 self-test kits and to use self-test kits. In addition, this team will…

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Feb 03 2021
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carmen guerra

Dr. Carmen Guerra Wins Penn Women in Medicine Award

By CHIBEblog

Congratulations to CHIBE-affiliated faculty member Carmen Guerra, MD, MSCE, FACP, on winning Penn’s Women in Medicine Award, which celebrates the commitment and contributions to advancing the education and careers of women in academic medicine by an alumna, faculty, or staff member. This award was the brainchild of Elizabeth Kirk Rose, M’26, INT’30, who started celebrations of Penn’s female students and alumnae in 1962. “More recently, the celebration has been an awards luncheon sponsored by the Elizabeth Blackwell Society and Penn Medicine Development and Alumni Relations for students, faculty, and alumni. This year will mark a new milestone: the first virtual…

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Feb 02 2021
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CHIBE Q&A: Damon Centola, PhD

By CHIBEblog

Damon Centola, PhD, is Professor of Communication, Sociology and Engineering at the University of Pennsylvania, where he directs the Network Dynamics Group. Dr. Centola is also a Senior Fellow at LDI and affiliated faculty member with the Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics (CHIBE). He just published a book called Change: How to Make Big Things Happen, which you can learn more about on his website. Learn more about Dr. Centola in our Q&A below. What made you want to write Change: How to Make Big Things Happen? I am a sociologist who studies the way that beliefs and…

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Feb 01 2021
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Congratulations to Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, On Her Retirement

By CHIBEblog

Penn’s Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) honors and congratulates Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA, on her retirement on January 31, 2021. Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey has been a tremendous force for good—and a voice for people—for our Center, the University, and the world. The impact she has had over the course of her career through her scholarship, leadership, mentorship, and example has been unparalleled. She is not finished her good work, and we are thrilled that Dr. Lavizzo-Mourey will join CHIBE’s External Advisory Board. She will also be moving to emeritus status with the Department of Medical Ethics and Health…

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Jan 25 2021
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Ravi Parikh Wins David Yurman-PCF VAlor Young Investigator Award

By CHIBEblog

Congratulations to CHIBE affiliate Ravi B. Parikh, MD, MPP, FACP, who has won the Prostate Cancer Foundation’s 2020 David Yurman-PCF VAlor Young Investigator Award. Dr. Parikh was celebrated for “developing new clinical biomarker tests that can identify which patients undergoing hormonal therapy are at risk for developing bone fractures, and should be prescribed early bone maintenance therapies. “This will significantly improve quality-of-life for patients with advanced prostate cancer, starting with the Veteran population,” the foundation stated. Learn more here on the Prostate Cancer Foundation site.

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Jan 21 2021
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Online Courses with CHIBE Director Kevin Volpp

By CHIBEblog

For those interested in learning more about behavioral economics from the Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics (CHIBE) Director Kevin Volpp, MD, PhD, see two offerings below from the Department of Medical Ethics & Health Policy’s Online Education team. February 2 – March 1, 2021 Foundations of Behavioral Economics Kevin G. Volpp, MD, PhD Noncredit, professional development course Clinicians, care teams, administrators, payers, digital health teams, entrepreneurs, and researchers may benefit from this professional development opportunity. Learn more and enroll here! ———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————— Penn faculty, staff, and graduate and professional students are also invited to take this online, master’s-level course…

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Jan 15 2021
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health-affairs

CHIBE Members Author Some of Health Affairs’ Top Articles of 2020

By CHIBEblog

Congratulations to the following CHIBE-affiliated faculty members for authoring two of Health Affairs’ 20 most-read articles of 2020: Atheendar Venkataramani, PhD, MD, MPhil Judith Long, MD David Asch, MD, MBA Dr. Venkataramani was an author on “Mortality Rates From COVID-19 Are Lower In Unionized Nursing Homes,” alongside Adam Dean, PhD, MsC, and Simeon Kimmel, MD, MA. Drs. Long and Asch were authors on “Evidence-Based Community Health Worker Program Addresses Unmet Social Needs And Generates Positive Return On Investment,” alongside Shreya Kangovi, MD, MSHP; Nandita Mitra, PhD; and David Grande, MD, MPA. See the full list of Health Affairs top articles…

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Find out how CHIBE faculty are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic