Focus Areas

• Behavioral Economics

  The Division of Health Policy provides an academic home to the Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics (CHIBE). CHIBE faculty design, implement, and evaluate behavioral economic interventions to improve patient health behaviors, chronic disease management, physician payment models, and much more. The Center’s research makes a significant contribution to reducing the disease burden from major U.S. public health problems such as tobacco dependence, obesity, and medication non-adherence.    

  Learn more about CHIBE here

• Food Policy

  The Psychology of Eating And Consumer Health (PEACH) lab, housed in the Division of Health Policy, studies public health interventions and policies designed to improve diets and to prevent and reduce obesity and eating disorders. Led by Dr. Christina Roberto, the PEACH lab’s research provides policymakers and institutions with science-based guidance to create and improve food policy. 

   

  Learn more about the PEACH Lab

• Economic Opportunity

  The Opportunity for Health Lab, directed by Dr. Atheendar Venkataramani, is dedicated to understanding how the American Dream affects America’s health and identifying ways to help bolster both economic opportunity and health. The lab's research uses advanced statistical techniques and new data on economic opportunity—and the events and policies that shape it—to achieve these goals.

  Learn more about the Opportunity for Health Lab

• Research on Aging

  The Population Aging Research Center (PARC), co-led by one of our faculty members Dr. Norma Coe, leads interdisciplinary research on the demography and economics of aging, including a focus on diverse and often underrepresented populations domestically and globally. Some of the center’s areas of research are: health care and long-term care in older adults, cognition and Alzheimer's and related dementia, health disparities in aging, early life-conditions and older adult health, behavior and well-being, and global aging and health.

  Find out more about PARC here

• Research in Developing Countries

  The Penn Development Research Initiative (PDRI) brings together faculty and graduate students from 7 schools across the University of Pennsylvania whose research seeks to identify solutions to the challenges facing developing countries. PDRI seeks to foster impactful international development research by harnessing the expertise of its affiliates from various disciplines and utilizing diverse methodological approaches. Under the directorship of Dr. Guy Grossman (Political Science, School of Arts and Sciences) and Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy (Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine), PDRI serves as a launchpad for extramurally-funded research projects that include collaborations with international NGOs, local NGOs, and government agencies while also serving as an intellectual hub for Penn faculty and graduate students conducting research in developing countries.

  Learn more about PDRI

• Global Health

  Dr. Alison Buttenheim and Dr. Harsha Thirumurthy are Co-Directors of the Behavioral Economics and Global Health Insights (BEGIN) Lab. The BEGIN Lab seeks innovative solutions to persistent challenges that limit healthy lifespans globally. In pursuit of these solutions, the BEGIN Lab and its collaborators design and evaluate behavioral, structural, and policy interventions that have the potential to improve health outcomes. The overarching goal of the BEGIN Lab is to change behavior, impact policy, and end epidemics. Ongoing projects are taking place in partnership with researchers and organizations in several countries in Africa, South Asia, and Latin America.

  Learn more about the BEGIN Lab

• Health Economics

  Our researchers make significant contributions to the field of health economics, exploring the influence of medical care and health practices on outcomes and cost. Specifically, faculty affiliated with our Division examine the economics of the physician workforce, access to health insurance coverage, informal caregiving for patients with Alzheimer's disease, and appropriate design of Medicare in a budget-constrained environment. Insight from our faculty’s work was instrumental to the design of the Affordable Care Act and plays a key role in continuing discussions around health care design. The work of our Division is closely connected with the University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics.

  Learn more about the Leonard Davis Institute

• Artificial Intelligence

  The Human Algorithm Collaboration Laboratory (HACLab) envisions a world where policymakers, clinicians, and patients seamlessly use advanced algorithms to improve health and policy.  Based at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and led by Director Ravi Parikh, MD, MPP, the HACLab develops, evaluates, and implements machine learning-based interventions to inform clinical decisions, improve risk-stratification, and ameliorate disparities in care. In collaboration with the Payment Insights Team, we have an active program to reduce unfairness in population health algorithms. We actively produce thought leadership related to AI regulation, reimbursement, and liability in healthcare. Furthermore, we partner with clinicians, data scientists, behavioral economists, and policymakers in research including cancer care delivery, responsible use of novel therapeutics, payment reform, and disparities in cancer care.

  Learn about the Human Algorithm Collaboration Lab

• Health Care Innovation

  Faculty members in the Division of Health Policy are experts in health care innovation, reimagining health care delivery for better patient outcomes and higher value. Through the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation, our researchers employ a disciplined, rapid approach to creating, evaluating, and implementing new strategies – such as the mobile health platform Way to Health - to tackle challenging health care dilemmas. The work of our faculty in this domain focuses on improving patient quality of life, leveraging connected health, reducing the cost of care, and encouraging the adoption of innovative methods by health systems.

  Learn more about the Penn Medicine Center for Health Care Innovation

• Payment Insights

  Amol Navathe, MD, PhD, launched the Payment Insights Team, an interdisciplinary team of experts based in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania that uses insights from economics and behavioral science to analyze existing policy effects and design, test, and evaluate financial and non-financial interventions that can improve care in pragmatic, real-world settings.

  Learn more about the Payment Insights Team

• COVID-19

  Our faculty have been heavily involved in research and guidance surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic since 2020. Our Medical Ethics & Health Policy faculty have provided their expertise on everything from financial incentives to increase vaccine uptake, to equitable ways to distribute the vaccine in the United States and abroad, vaccine mandates, the FDA approval process, and more. Learn about some of our projects here, or find COVID-19-related media on our News page. In addition, you can find resources on our Online Education “Policy, Ethics, and COVID-19” page.

  Learn more about our COVID-19 projects here