A world-class city filled with art and culture and an incredible campus that offers cutting edge resources–that’s what students receive at Penn Nursing. And that’s just the start. Penn Nursing and the wider university offer something for everyone, as well as a lifelong community.

Penn Nursing is globally known for educating dynamic nurses—because our School values evidence-based science and health equity. That’s where our expertise lies, whether in research, practice, community health, or beyond. Everything we do upholds a through-line of innovation, encouraging our exceptional students, alumni, and faculty share their knowledge and skills to reshape health care.

Penn Nursing students are bold and unafraid, ready to embrace any challenge that comes their way. Whether you are exploring a career in nursing or interested in advancing your nursing career, a Penn Nursing education will help you meet your goals and become an innovative leader, prepared to change the face of health and wellness.

Penn Nursing is the #1-ranked nursing school in the world. Its highly-ranked programs help develop highly-skilled leaders in health care who are prepared to work alongside communities to tackle issues of health equity and social justice to improve health and wellness for everyone.

Penn Nursing’s rigorous academic curricula are taught by world renowned experts, ensuring that students at every level receive an exceptional Ivy League education. From augmented reality classrooms and clinical simulations to coursework that includes experiential global travel to clinical placements in top notch facilities, a Penn Nursing education prepares our graduates to lead.

Applying Implementation Science to Improve Cervical Cancer Prevention in sub-Saharan Africa

While cervical cancer – one of the most common cancers in women – has significantly decreased in the United States, it is still the second most common cancer in women who live in less developed countries, according to the World Health Organization. Women in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) have the largest age-standardized incidence and mortality rates of this potentially preventable and non-communicable disease due to the difficulty in implementing prevention, screening, and treatment programs.

March 14, 2018

In a study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), researchers evaluated implementation strategies used to improve the uptake and sustainability of cervical cancer prevention programs in SSA. Insight from the study has potential to improve understanding in how to scale up and evaluate new and existing programs and use them to overcome barriers to treatment and prevention for these women.

“We undertook this review in an attempt to enter cervical cancer prevention into the implementation science conversation. The necessary evidence and tools for prevention exist but are not translating easily into practice and reaching the most vulnerable, at-risk women,” said Lauren G. Johnson, PhD, lead author of the article published in Implementation Science. Johnson performed this research review while a doctoral student at Penn Nursing.

Implementation science is an emerging field that explicitly studies the processes of implementing evidence-based programs in clinical and public health settings to achieve improved patient and population health outcomes. Implementation strategies are instrumental in bridging the gap and improving the speed and rigor of research translation.

By reviewing 53 studies well represented in all regions of SSA, the research team identified a need to diversify strategies that are used to maximize the number of women reached in the region with cervical cancer prevention programs. “Education is important, but simply disseminating information in isolation is not very effective in generating change.  Our study indicated a need for additional organizational and structural support to adequately sustain implementation and further improve cervical cancer prevention in sub-Saharan Africa,” said Johnson.

This study was supported by funding from the Hillman Scholars Program in Nursing Innovation Pre-doctoral Fellowship at Penn Nursing, National Cancer Institute Diversity Supplement (U54CA190158—Parent Grant), and the  American Cancer Society Doctoral Degree Scholarship in Cancer Nursing (DSCN-16-112-01). Co-authors of the study include Alison M. Buttenheim, PhD, MBA, Associate Professor of Nursing; Allison Armstrong; Caroline M. Joyce, and Anne M. Teitelman, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP, FAAN, the Patricia Bleznak Silverstein and Howard A. Silverstein Endowed Term Chair in Global Women’s Health and Associate Professor of Nursing, all of Penn Nursing.