WHYY (Philadelphia)

Yelp reviews may provide key insights into patient experiences with racism

Jason Tong and Anietie Andy of the Perelman School of Medicine studied Yelp reviews of hospitals to better understand racial disparities in health care. “Racism within health care can be pervasive and can occur in a variety of both clinical and nonclinical spaces,” said Tong. “Hopefully [we] can create a composite metric of racism that can be used for targeted quality improvement initiatives for hospitals.”

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The Conversation

How better funding can increase the number and diversity of doctoral students

Walter G. Ecton of the Graduate School of Education and a Vanderbilt University colleague shared their research on the effects of doctoral-program funding on student diversity. “Given the relative lack of diversity among university faculty, initiatives that attract students from groups that are currently underrepresented in doctoral education carry great benefits for society,” they wrote.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Yelp reviews could help hospitals target racism, Penn study finds

Perelman School of Medicine researchers found that online reviews of hospitals could help evaluate patients’ experiences with racism. “It’s powerful because it’s anonymous—it reduces the fear of reporting, it’s familiar, and it’s open-ended,” general surgery resident Jason Tong said. “It allows consumers to comment on what matters to them.”

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Philadelphia Business Journal

Letter to the Editor: Financial aid and cost of attendance at Penn

Stephen J. MacCarthy, vice president of University Communications wrote about Penn’s efforts to make higher education affordable: “A strong commitment to student financial aid (as witnessed at Penn) can dramatically increase access while improving the lives of entire generations of students.”

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A full moon with clouds in the sky

Mid-autumn moon festival

With a moon viewing, cultural information, and food, the LGBT Center, Penn Queer and Asian, and the Penn Taiwanese Society held a celebration of the traditional harvest festival tied to the Chinese lunar calendar.

Kristina García ・

NBC News

Covid long-haulers face new challenges as they head to college. Universities are listening

Jasmine Harris of the Law School said college students with lingering effects from COVID-19 may need disability accommodations. “If we do not address reasonable modifications and disability in higher ed, we risk students dropping out of programs, voluntarily or involuntarily, which means we lose the talent and skills of a growing population of young long-haulers,” she said.

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