Research Centers

Through our research centers, Penn Nursing scientists work across a wide range of disciplines from chronic illness, women’s health, and quality-of-life care to nurse staffing and public policy, and much more.

Office of Nursing Research (ONR)

In addition to our research centers, Penn Nursing faculty and students benefit from the resources, services, and support of the Office of Nursing Research. The ONR offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to support faculty and students throughout the life of a research grant—from the earliest concepts to final closeout paperwork. Grants specialists help faculty find sources of funding. And ONR staff help students discover grant opportunities, find research partners, hone grant writing skills, and connect with mentors. The ONR also provides statistical support, conducts mock reviews that result in a high success rate, and offers guidance with regulatory compliance. 

Office of Nursing Research

Barbara Bates Center for the Study of The History of Nursing

The preeminent nursing archive and research center in the world, this center uses nursing’s past to change nursing’s future by using what we’ve learned to make better policies and improve patient care.

Barbara Bates Center

Center for Global Women’s Health

This interdisciplinary center collaborates on women’s health in a global context and uses health equity as a way to focus on social justice.

Center for Global Women’s Health

Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research (CHOPR)

Researchers at CHOPR study health system reorganization and use research to affect policy changes to improve the quality of health care.

Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research

NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health

Here we work on one of the top health care challenges today: how to meet the needs of patients with chronic illnesses—such as heart failure, diabetes, and depression—in a way that is humane, safe, effective, and efficient.

NewCourtland Center for Transitions and Health

 

    News from our research centers

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    Improving Quality of Life and Sleep in People with Memory Problems Without Using Drugs

    A groundbreaking study from the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing), recently published in Innovation in Aging, has shown promising results in improving the quality of life (QOL) and sleep quality in individuals living with memory problems. The research delves into the efficacy of a nonpharmacological approach in a trial known as the Healthy Patterns Sleep Program.

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    Penn Collaboratory to Fund Ten New Pilot Studies on Aging

    The Penn Artificial Intelligence and Technology Collaboratory for Healthy Aging (PennAITech) – made up of Penn’s School of Nursing, the Perelman School of Medicine, and other departments across the University – focuses on identifying developing, evaluating, commercializing, and disseminating innovative technology and artificial intelligence methods/software to support aging. This is year two for the collaboratory – made possible through a grant from the National Institute on Aging – and it is providing more than $2.3 M in funding to ten pilot projects.

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    When Segregation of Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Threatens Care for People with Coexisting Conditions

    Life becomes very complex for patients who need to manage pain due to cancer or other illness while still receiving methadone treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). Methadone is a highly effective medication for treating OUD, however, the current U.S. regulatory framework mandates that methadone for OUD is exclusively accessible through federally approved Opioid Treatment Programs, with many individuals required to make daily visits for supervised dosing. This requirement places a significant burden on those with competing health needs, limited access to transportation, living in rural areas or in regions with few or no treatment programs.

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    Study Highlights Concerns and Preferences of Residents Regarding Police Involvement in Mental Health Crisis Response

    Police officers often respond to incidents that do not involve crime or immediate threats to public safety but instead deal with community members facing unmet mental health needs. In response to this, many cities are experimenting with co-deploying police officers alongside health professionals or deploying teams entirely composed of civilian health professionals.

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    NIH Grant for Innovative Study Using Patient Verbal Communication to Detect Deterioration in Heart Failure Patients in Managed Long-Term Care

    To improve the quality of care and reduce healthcare expenditures, heart failure patients in the U.S. are increasingly being treated in community-based programs such as managed long-term care. Although early identification of patients’ risks of negative outcomes, including hospitalizations or emergency department visits, has been shown to prevent these adverse outcomes in settings including hospitals and nursing homes, it has not been studied in managed long-term care.