The Evidence-to-Impact Podcast

  The Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative Podcast is offering a new series called The Pandemic Perspective, where we examine how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and various aspects of our society, institutions, and other systems have collided, changed, and even collapsed in the last nine months. For the first episode of this series, we spoke with three experts about how the delivery of educational services for children with disabilities and the greater education system has changed since the beginning of the year, as well as how we can incorporate lessons learned into the future. The discussion stems from a May 2020 blog post from the Social Science Research Institute’s “Insights from the Experts” COVID-19 blog series. Our guests include Carole Clancy, Director of the Bureau of Special Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education; Paul Morgan, Professor of Education and Demography in the Department of Education Policy Studies and Director of the Center for Educational Disparities Research (CEDR) at Penn State; and Adrienne Woods, CEDR Postdoctoral Research Scholar in the Department of Education Policy Studies at Penn State.   Resources for Teachers, Families, and School Administrators * Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) (https://www.education.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx) * Bureau of Special Education for the Pennsylvania Department of Education (https://www.education.pa.gov/K-12/Special%20Education/Pages/default.aspx) * Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) (https://www.pattan.net/Supports/Family-Engagement) * Council for Exceptional Children (https://exceptionalchildren.org/) * National Center for Learning Disabilities (https://www.ncld.org/) Transcript for the episode is available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/Special-Education-During-COVID-19-EIC-Podcast-Episode-7-Transcript.pdf).

In this month's episode, we spoke to Alexis Santos, PhD (https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/alexis-santos), Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at Penn State (https://hhd.psu.edu/hdfs), and David Saunders (https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidsaundersnocal/), Director of the Office of Health Equity (https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/Health-Equity/Pages/Health%20Equity.aspx) for the Pennsylvania Department of Health, about different disparities throughout the Pennsylvania Commonwealth and how the lack of good data impacts what we understand about poverty and health inequities. The discussion stems from a project between Penn State's Administrative Data Accelerator (https://www.accelerator.psu.edu/) and Office of Health Equity which examined associations between socioeconomic characteristics of the counties of Pennsylvania and life expectancy. Interestingly, those associations can potentially help to address disparities across the state through policy mechanisms. According to the U.S. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion's website (https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-of-health), the phrase "social determinants of health" are conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. Conditions (e.g., social, economic, and physical) in these various environments and settings (e.g., school, church, workplace, and neighborhood) have been referred to as "place." Note: This episode was recorded prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 and does not address current circumstances, but the issues discussed are undoubtedly exacerbated due to the conditions of the pandemic. For clarification, Penn State's Administrative Data Accelerator (https://www.accelerator.psu.edu/) is an infrastructure of the Evidence-to-Impact Collaborative at Penn State (http://evidence2impact.psu.edu/), which specializes in the acquisition, linkage and responsive use of often sensitive administrative data for research purposes—coming from both government, industry or other sources Transcript is available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/EIC-Podcast-Income-Inequality-Episode-6.pdf).

What is there left to say about the opioid crisis that has not already been said? It's claimed thousands of lives (https://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/epidemic/index.html), torn apart families and communities, strained our country's already fractured healthcare system, and cost the economy billions, perhaps trillions, of dollars. If burning a path through communities for the last twenty years was not enough, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many individuals and families to endure joblessness, potential homelessness, and other uncertainties, causing a spike in substance use and subsequently, overdoses (https://www.aamc.org/news-insights/covid-19-and-opioid-crisis-when-pandemic-and-epidemic-collide). In this episode, we spoke to Glenn Sterner, PhD (https://www.abington.psu.edu/glenn-sterner), Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice at Penn State Abington (https://www.abington.psu.edu/), and Stephen Forzato (https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephen-forzato-115501198/), Deputy Chief for Statewide Drug Initiatives at the Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General (https://www.attorneygeneral.gov/index.html) about reducing the stigma of the opioid crisis and greater issues of substance use. For more information about Glenn Sterner, PhD's work in reducing the stigma of the opioid crisis through storytelling, visit shareyouropioidstory.com (https://shareyouropioidstory.com/). For more information about finding treatment for substance use disorder, please visit SAMHSA's treatment provider website (https://findtreatment.samhsa.gov/). Note: This episode was recorded before the outbreak of COVID-19 and does not address current circumstances, but the issues discussed are undoubtedly exacerbated due to the conditions of the pandemic. Since the recording of this episode, Mr. Forzato has retired from law enforcement to join the faculty of St. Joseph’s University as the Director of the Center for Addiction and Recovery Education. Transcript is available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/EIC-Podcast-Episode-5-Glenn-Sterner-and-Steve-Forzato-Opioid-Crisis.pdf).

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues and unemployment benefits for many Americans decrease significantly at the end of July, many Americans will be unable to pay rents and mortgages and may face eviction. Given the severity of this particular crisis, July's episode focuses on multiple issues related to housing in America, like the lack of affordable housing and housing as a means to improve overall health and well-being. In this episode, we spoke to Bryce Maretzki (https://www.linkedin.com/in/bryce-maretzki-aa50098/), Director of Policy and Planning for the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (https://www.phfa.org/), and Selena Ortiz, PhD (https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/selena-e-ortiz), Assistant Professor of Health Policy and Administration (https://hhd.psu.edu/hpa) as well as Demography, at Penn State. Note: This episode was recorded before the outbreak of COVID-19 and does not address current circumstances, but the issues discussed are undoubtedly exacerbated due to the conditions of the pandemic.

For this month's episode, we spoke to Lisa Davis (https://hhd.psu.edu/hpa/lisa-davis), Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (https://www.porh.psu.edu/) and Ann Tickamyer, PhD (https://aese.psu.edu/directory/art14), Professor Emerita of Rural Sociology and Demography at Penn State (https://aese.psu.edu/), about the challenges and opportunities of healthcare in rural communities. Pennsylvania is considered one of the most rural states in the nation, and is anchored by Pittsburgh in the southwestern and Philadelphia in the southeastern parts of the state. Across the nation, however, rural counties have much in common in terms of geographic isolation and significant challenges like access to economic development, transportation infrastructure, broadband services, healthcare services, and many others. As the U.S. continues to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, the inadequacy of our country's healthcare system hangs heavily over rural communities and the people living in them. Transcript available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/EIC-Podcast-Episode-3-Rural-Communities-Transcript.pdf). Note: This episode was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic and does not account for current changes for rural communities.

For this month's episode, we spoke to Lisa Davis (https://hhd.psu.edu/hpa/lisa-davis), Director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health (https://www.porh.psu.edu/) and Ann Tickamyer, PhD (https://aese.psu.edu/directory/art14), Professor Emerita of Rural Sociology and Demography at Penn State (https://aese.psu.edu/), about the challenges and opportunities of healthcare in rural communities. Pennsylvania is considered one of the most rural states in the nation, and is anchored by Pittsburgh in the southwestern and Philadelphia in the southeastern parts of the state. Across the nation, however, rural counties have much in common in terms of geographic isolation and significant challenges like access to economic development, transportation infrastructure, broadband services, healthcare services, and many others. As the U.S. continues to weather the COVID-19 pandemic, the inadequacy of our country's healthcare system hangs heavily over rural communities and the people living in them. Transcript available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/EIC-Podcast-Episode-3-Rural-Communities-Transcript.pdf). Note: This episode was recorded before the COVID-19 pandemic and does not account for current changes for rural communities.

For this month’s episode, we spoke to Penn State’s Marty Sliwinski (https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/martin-sliwinski-0), PhD, Director of the Center for Healthy Aging (https://healthyaging.psu.edu/) and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies (https://hhd.psu.edu/hdfs), and Stephanie Cole, Director of Special Projects and Executive Assistant at the Office of the Secretary at Pennsylvania Department of Aging (https://www.aging.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx), about challenges and opportunities related to aging. This episode was recorded in February 2020 before the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory physical and social distancing. The Podcast Team believes the discussion of our country’s aging population is more salient than ever as individuals, families, and children remain quarantined in their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and give our healthcare system a fighting chance. And since individuals of advanced age are presented with higher risks, this is more important that ever. Aging is a lifelong process, beginning at birth, and continues throughout adulthood. Through this lens, we begin to understand the problems that our country’s population faces now and in the next several decades when we will reach a cultural tipping point in which there will be more people over age 65 than age 18 and under. For that reason, there must be a shift in integrating our country’s systems like healthcare, housing, and transportation to better adapt to our aging population. Transcript available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Aging-EIC-Podcast-Episode-2-Final.pdf).

For this month’s episode, we spoke to Penn State’s Marty Sliwinski (https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/martin-sliwinski-0), PhD, Director of the Center for Healthy Aging (https://healthyaging.psu.edu/) and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies (https://hhd.psu.edu/hdfs), and Stephanie Cole, Director of Special Projects and Executive Assistant at the Office of the Secretary at Pennsylvania Department of Aging (https://www.aging.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx), about challenges and opportunities related to aging. This episode was recorded in February 2020 before the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory physical and social distancing. The Podcast Team believes the discussion of our country’s aging population is more salient than ever as individuals, families, and children remain quarantined in their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and give our healthcare system a fighting chance. And since individuals of advanced age are presented with higher risks, this is more important that ever. Aging is a lifelong process, beginning at birth, and continues throughout adulthood. Through this lens, we begin to understand the problems that our country’s population faces now and in the next several decades when we will reach a cultural tipping point in which there will be more people over age 65 than age 18 and under. For that reason, there must be a shift in integrating our country’s systems like healthcare, housing, and transportation to better adapt to our aging population. Transcript available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Aging-EIC-Podcast-Episode-2-Final.pdf).

For this month’s episode, we spoke to Penn State’s Marty Sliwinski (https://hhd.psu.edu/contact/martin-sliwinski-0), PhD, Director of the Center for Healthy Aging (https://healthyaging.psu.edu/) and Professor of Human Development and Family Studies (https://hhd.psu.edu/hdfs), and Stephanie Cole, Director of Special Projects and Executive Assistant at the Office of the Secretary at Pennsylvania Department of Aging (https://www.aging.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx), about challenges and opportunities related to aging. This episode was recorded in February 2020 before the rise of the COVID-19 pandemic and mandatory physical and social distancing. The Podcast Team believes the discussion of our country’s aging population is more salient than ever as individuals, families, and children remain quarantined in their homes to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and give our healthcare system a fighting chance. And since individuals of advanced age are presented with higher risks, this is more important that ever. Aging is a lifelong process, beginning at birth, and continues throughout adulthood. Through this lens, we begin to understand the problems that our country’s population faces now and in the next several decades when we will reach a cultural tipping point in which there will be more people over age 65 than age 18 and under. For that reason, there must be a shift in integrating our country’s systems like healthcare, housing, and transportation to better adapt to our aging population. Transcript available here (https://evidence2impact.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Aging-EIC-Podcast-Episode-2-Final.pdf).

This week, we spoke to two experts on issue about criminal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines are a set of standards that are generally put in place to establish rational and consistent sentencing practices within a particular jurisdiction. Guests: Jeff Ulmer (https://sociology.la.psu.edu/people/jtu100) is a Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State and the Program Head of the Criminal Justice Policy and Administration MPS Degree for Penn State World Campus (https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/penn-state-online-criminal-justice-policy-and-administration-masters/overview). His research interests include criminology, social psychology, sociology of religion, organizations, and the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. His current projects Mark Bergstrom is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (http://pcs.la.psu.edu/) and an Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State. He started working for the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing in 1992 and took over as its Executive Director in 1998.  

This week, we spoke to two experts on issue about criminal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines are a set of standards that are generally put in place to establish rational and consistent sentencing practices within a particular jurisdiction. Guests: Jeff Ulmer (https://sociology.la.psu.edu/people/jtu100) is a Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State and the Program Head of the Criminal Justice Policy and Administration MPS Degree for Penn State World Campus (https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/penn-state-online-criminal-justice-policy-and-administration-masters/overview). His research interests include criminology, social psychology, sociology of religion, organizations, and the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. His current projects Mark Bergstrom is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (http://pcs.la.psu.edu/) and an Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State. He started working for the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing in 1992 and took over as its Executive Director in 1998.  

This week, we spoke to two experts on issue about criminal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines are a set of standards that are generally put in place to establish rational and consistent sentencing practices within a particular jurisdiction. Guests: Jeff Ulmer (https://sociology.la.psu.edu/people/jtu100) is a Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State and the Program Head of the Criminal Justice Policy and Administration MPS Degree for Penn State World Campus (https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/penn-state-online-criminal-justice-policy-and-administration-masters/overview). His research interests include criminology, social psychology, sociology of religion, organizations, and the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. His current projects Mark Bergstrom is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (http://pcs.la.psu.edu/) and an Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State. He started working for the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing in 1992 and took over as its Executive Director in 1998.  

This week, we spoke to two experts on issue about criminal sentencing guidelines. Sentencing guidelines are a set of standards that are generally put in place to establish rational and consistent sentencing practices within a particular jurisdiction. Guests: Jeff Ulmer (https://sociology.la.psu.edu/people/jtu100) is a Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State and the Program Head of the Criminal Justice Policy and Administration MPS Degree for Penn State World Campus (https://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/degrees-and-certificates/penn-state-online-criminal-justice-policy-and-administration-masters/overview). His research interests include criminology, social psychology, sociology of religion, organizations, and the integration of qualitative and quantitative methods. His current projects Mark Bergstrom is the Executive Director of the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing (http://pcs.la.psu.edu/) and an Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Penn State. He started working for the Pennsylvania Commission on Sentencing in 1992 and took over as its Executive Director in 1998.  

Join us each month as we explore issues affecting our families and communities.

Join us each month as we explore issues affecting our families and communities.