Gallaudet University · PsychologyKushalnagar Lab
Poorna Kushalnagar · Washington, District of Columbia
Research Focus
Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar's lab focuses on improving cancer screening outcomes for individuals who use American Sign Language (ASL). The lab leverages community health navigators fluent in ASL to help address barriers these individuals face in understanding cancer health information and accessing appropriate screenings. By conducting randomized trials, the lab aims to enhance the effectiveness of cancer care for this underserved population and ultimately improve their health outcomes.
cancer screeningAmerican Sign Languagecommunity healthpublic healthhealth outcomespatient navigationinterventionhealth education
Research Aims
4AIM 01Evaluate the effectiveness of ASL-proficient community health navigators in promoting cancer screening adherence.
AIM 02Investigate barriers to understanding cancer health information among ASL users.
AIM 03Assess the impact of targeted interventions on health outcomes for individuals who use ASL.
AIM 04Enhance knowledge and risk perception related to cancer screening in ASL communities.
Skills the Lab Values
videoconferencingcommunity outreachrandomized controlled trialsdata collection and analysishealth communicationpublic health researchpatient education strategiesintervention design
Output against the department
Publications111bottom 32% of dept.201st of 296
this lab
most publishedleast published
Citations2.8kbottom 27% of dept.215th of 296
this lab
most citedleast cited
Career totals from OpenAlex, compared against labs that share a department. A department spans everything from one paper to tens of thousands, so bar heights are on a log scale — otherwise the largest lab would flatten every other bar to a line.