Lauren Pianucci ’22MMS, MPH, PA-C, and Margaret Longacre, Ph.D., MSHE, published “Nonurgent Emergency Department Use by Pediatric Patients in the United States: A Systematic Literature Review” in Pediatric Emergency Care.

Pianucci conducted this research as her MPH capstone project under the advising of Longacre, who serves as associate dean of the College of Health Sciences and chair of the Public Health Department at Arcadia University.

According to the article, Pianucci helped conduct a “systematic literature review to understand the breadth of factors that contribute to use of the ED for nonurgent conditions by pediatric patients in the United States.”

The review suggested the use of “tailored interventions” and public policy to improve health literacy and access in regard to the use of the emergency department (ED).

Pianucci has also published “Disordered Eating Among Adolescents with Chronic Pain: the Experience of a Pediatric Rheumatology Subspecialty Pain Clinic” in Pediatric Rheumatology. She now works as a Physician Assistant for the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Dr. Longacre teaches courses in healthcare systems and public health policy as well as research methods and capstone advising. Her research interests include informal or family caregiving, and understanding health system impacts. Dr. Longacre was recently funded by the American Cancer Society for a project assessing the feasibility of an integrated-caregiver portal system with colleagues at Fox Chase Cancer Center.