A machine-learning approach to controlling blood pressure

Machine learning, a branch of computer artificial intelligence, has been put to use in a range of healthcare fields, from identifying promising drugs to recognizing changes in medical images that can catch health issues early.  A new project at the College of Public Health aims to apply machine learning techniques to the everyday health of millions of people who have hypertension, a main risk factor for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Gabriel Tajeu, assistant professor of Health Services Administration and Policy, has been awarded a five-year, $748,000 grant from the National In...
Health Services Administration and Policy
Data
students on campus wearing masks

MLK Day teach-in to explore intersection of race, poverty, and policy

The College of Public Health has received a grant from the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) to facilitate a college-wide “teach-in” event on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in 2021. Faculty, staff, students and community members will be invited for discussions that focus on policy-level interventions that address the effects of the intersection of race and poverty. The grant also funds development of a webpage focused on these issues with corresponding resources and information. Laurie Friedman, associate professor of instruction in the School of Social Work, noted tha...
School of Social Work
Racism
Health Services Administration and Policy
Temple campus

College welcomes new chairs and senior leadership

The College of Public Health has added new senior leadership to its faculty, welcoming new chairs in the Department of Kinesiology and Department of Health Services Administration and Policy, as well as an associate dean for clinical affairs and interprofessional practice, a position new to the college.  “We are tremendously fortunate to have attracted a stellar group of new colleagues who are joining us this summer and fall," said Laura A. Siminoff, dean of the College of Public Health. Susan VonNessen-Scanlin, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Interprofessional Prac...
Faculty
Nursing
Health Services Administration and Policy
Kinesiology
older man at doctor

Black adults under 65 twice as likely to die from cardiovascular disease, study finds

Black adults under age 65 have more than twice the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease as white adults under 65, according to a new study led by Gabriel Tajeu, assistant professor of health services administration and policy.  In a study published in the May 2020 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, Tajeu and the research team found that socioeconomic status and cardiovascular disease risk-factor differences between black and white adults are the overwhelming factors accounting for the disparity. "We know that race is associated with an increased risk of cardi...
Cardiovascular health
Health Services Administration and Policy
Research
hands and a pill

Majority of those under 65 do not take blood pressure medicine as prescribed, study finds

Taking prescribed blood pressure medicine (antihypertensive medication) is a relatively low-commitment way for people with hypertension to reduce health risks that can include cardiovascular damage, stroke and premature death. Yet around half of the people prescribed antihypertensive medication don’t have their high blood pressure controlled within recommended levels. Part of the problem is that they aren’t taking medication as prescribed. With an estimated 100 million U.S. adults having high blood pressure—and the number rising—failure to take recommended medicine crea...
Health Services Administration and Policy
Cardiovascular health
surgical tools

Poor health insurance coverage is likely barrier to effective obesity treatment

One out of every three American adults has obesity, defined as a Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30. About one in 13 American adults has extreme obesity and weighs 100 pounds more than their recommended body weight, leaving them with a BMI of 40 or greater.  And yet, only 1 percent of the patients eligible for bariatric surgery, considered to be the most effective treatment for obesity, actually undergo the surgery each year. Prior research has explored sociocultural factors that could contribute to this underutilization, but according to a review authored by Hamlet Gasoyan,...
Health Services Administration and Policy
CORE
waiting room

Pro-white bias could be more prevalent in non-medical healthcare staff, study finds

Appointments with a medical provider typically entail more than just interaction with the doctor. There are check-ins with reception, a pre-screening with a nurse, and then a follow-up with the office’s front desk after speaking with the doctor. While researchers have studied how physicians’ racial biases affect the experience of minority patients, little attention has been paid to how healthcare staff’s biases might affect patients. In an effort to explore that open question, Gabriel S. Tajeu, assistant professor of health services administration and policy, conducted re...
Health Services Administration and Policy