Center for Deaf Health Equity

At the 2024 ADARA conference in Atlanta, GA, Poorna Kushalnagar and Christine Gannon from the Center for Deaf Health Equity, along with Sherri Collins from the Arizona Commission for the Deaf, presented on healthcare access among older Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing individuals.

PC: Jaime Wilson

Join us for the Stanford Disability and Telehealth Conference to watch Poorna Kushalangar's presentation on "Telehealth Accessibility: Is this Inclusive of Deaf, Deafblind, and Hard of Hearing?" on Saturday, May 18th, 8:50-9:40am PST.

To register for the webinar, please follow the link below.

REGISTRATION NOW OPEN - May 18th Stanford Disability & Telehealth Conference (SMADIE's 2nd spring conference) Don't miss the Disability & Telehealth Conference     Disability & Telehealth Conference Saturday, May 18, 2024 8am-4pm PT Stanford Medicine Alliance for Disability Inclusion and Equity (SMADIE) and t

At the 2024 American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting in San Diego, Erika Bergeron, Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku, and Poorna Kushalnagar from the Center for Deaf Health Equity presented the team's preliminary findings on the screening rates for colorectal cancer among the deaf, deafblind, and hard-of-hearing population.

Wang, R., Rao, S., Bergeron, E., Perrodin-Njoku, E., Kushalnagar, P., (2024, April 9). Colorectal cancer screening rates in the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing population: preliminary findings. [poster presentation]. American Association for Cancer Research Annual Meeting 2024, San Diego, CA, United States.

NC DHHS Division of Services for the Deaf & Hard of Hearing is hiring a Program Planner Evaluator!

Please refer to the link below for additional information
https://oshr.nc.gov/work-for-nc/how-do-i-get-job

Do you enjoy helping others overcome communication barriers in all areas of their life? Do you like working with Deaf, Hard of Hearing or DeafBlind people? Then come work for us! See below for the three position vacancies across the state:

Deaf Services Specialist (Wilson, NC): https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/northcarolina/jobs/4449245/deaf-services-specialist-wilson?keywords=%E2%80%A2%09Deaf%20Services%20Specialist%20&pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

Telecommunications Consultant (Asheville, NC): https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/northcarolina/jobs/4457529/telecommunications-consultant-asheville?keywords=Deaf&pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

Program Planner Evaluator (Central Office in Raleigh): https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/northcarolina/jobs/4449377/program-planner-evaluator-dsdhh?keywords=Deaf&pagetype=jobOpportunitiesJobs

Team Member Spotlight: Katja Jacobs!

Katja (she/her) is a Research Assistant at CDHE. She recently graduated with her Master of Public Health from Boston University with a certificate in Community Health and received her B.A. in Medical Anthropology and Global Health from the University of Washington.

Katja is passionate about addressing concerns for the Deaf and disability communities in the development and management of public health interventions, which stems from her identity as a CODA (Child of Deaf Adults). She is keenly interested in improving the built environment - including public transportation, bike infrastructure, and access to green spaces - as a mechanism for achieving racial and health equity.

She loves backpacking, trail running, rock climbing, and using her bike to commute around town!

Team Member Spotlight: Donalda Ammons!

Donalda (she/her) is a Deaf Community co-investigator with the Center and the team lead for our Community Health Navigators grant. She has also been involved in other NIH grants, including health outcomes research on older deaf adults, deaf women, and deaf caregivers.

Donalda is passionate about improving health outcomes among deaf informal caregivers and their loved ones. When asked about her professional goals, she said she feels she has fulfilled many of them, given her advanced age of 70+.

In her free time, Donalda enjoys traveling, volunteering, and spending time with her spouse, nieces and their children.

Team Member Spotlight: Aparna Lele!

Aparna (she/her) is our Assistant Director, responsible for overseeing the Center's operations.

Aparna's interest in healthcare stems from her desire to assist healthcare providers in communicating more effectively with the deaf community, with the goal of enhancing their overall well-being. This passion was ignited by her experiences as a caregiver for her mother, who has survived colon cancer and two strokes. Through her role as a caregiver, Aparna gained valuable insight into the healthcare system and the challenges faced by those who navigate it.

Her professional areas of interest include ensuring equitable access to education, technology, and communication to improve quality of life for deaf, deaf blind, and hard of hearing people.

As a child, Aparna aspired to become a judge, just like her grandmother in India!

Team Member Spotlight: Erika Bergeron!

Erika (she/her) is our Associate Clinical Research Coordinator. She is currently in her last semester of a master's program in Health Promotion and Education at the University of Texas Health Houston School of Public Health.

Erika's journey into public health is fueled by a deep passion for creating positive change on a larger scale, sparked by her experiences as a Deaf individual and observations of healthcare inequities within the Deaf community. Her professional areas of interest include technology-enabled healthcare innovations, and she aims to develop and implement impactful health education programs to address specific community needs.

In her free time, you can often find Erika lacing up her running shoes!

Team Member Spotlight: Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku!

Emmanuel (he/him) is our post-baccalaureate research associate, supported by an NIH/NIDCD Diversity Supplement to address cancer health disparities in the deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing (DDBHH) community. His work is driven by his interest in the following fields: health disparities among marginalized populations, DDBHH health outcomes, cancer screening and prevention, and health policy.

Emmanuel graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Biomedical Sciences in 2018 and received post-baccalaureate cancer research training at NIH/NCI from 2019-2022. He hopes to receive an MD degree and eventually practice medicine and conduct research as a physician-scientist. He is currently in the process of applying to and interviewing at medical schools.

Some of Emmanuel's hobbies include reading science fiction and fantasy books, playing volleyball, participating in trivia games, and translating his favorite songs into ASL!

Team Member Spotlight: Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar!

Dr. Kushalnagar (she/her) is our Center Director, the Strategic/Chief Research Officer, and Professor of Psychology at Gallaudet University. With nearly $15 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), she serves as the principal investigator for grants supporting studies aligned with her primary research interests in deaf health equity and patient reported outcomes.

Dr. Kushalnagar received her B.A. in Psychology from Gallaudet University, as well as her M.A. in Psychology and Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from the University of Houston. She completed an NIH diversity postdoctoral training in patient reported outcomes research at the Seattle Quality of Life Center at the University of Washington and an NIH T32 postdoctoral fellowship in preventive medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

She says if she were to change her career, she would love to be a fast Bollywood dancer!

Watch this video to learn about adverse childhood communication experiences (ACCEs) and how to prevent language deprivation and communication neglect among Deaf children. This is shareable!

Link to our publication on ACCEs: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32636047

ACCE animated video See the link for video description: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JDv2-VV_I3qzom_zk9-FOtADeCEJchp1/view?usp=drive_link

Our website has moved! You can find everything you need to stay up-to-date on the Center for Deaf Health Equity's research projects, publications, and resources here:

Center for Deaf Health Equity | Gallaudet University We conduct rigorous research that lays the foundation for better health-related quality of life among deaf and hard of hearing people who use American

And that's a wrap! Our time in Chicago last weekend marks the final of four DeafNation Expos we attended in 2023.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booths and watched our team present and thank you to DeafNation for making these events possible.

Another great DeafNation Expo in the books in Portland, OR.

Come visit our booth and watch us present to learn more about CDHE's research tomorrow, Nov. 4th, in Chicago!

Find us in Chicago at the last DeafNation Expo of the year!

Come say hello at our booth and watch CDHE's Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar and Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku present from 2:30-3:00pm.

The stage schedule for the Chicago DeafNation Expo is available at DeafNation.com Mark your calendar for Saturday, November 4, 2023! More details are on https://DeafNation.com

Kudos to our Event Sponsors: ZVRS T-Mobile Accessibility Amazon.com Sorenson sComm Convo

Washington, D.C. folks: Come visit our Deafopia table today until 5pm at Gallaudet Homecoming. We hope to see you here, near Hotchkiss Field!

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Have you scheduled your mammogram yet? The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends that people with breasts ages 45-74 should get screened for breast cancer every two years. You can learn more information about screening guidelines here: cdc.gov/cancer/breast/basic_info/screening.htm

Back in 2009, four deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) women founded Pink Wings of Hope to empower and educate the DHH community to make informed decisions about their health and treatment options. Watch this video of deaf women sharing their breast cancer journeys: youtu.be/f2XG9gC2KxY

Deaf women share their breast cancer journeys Support Group: http://pink.deafinc.org/Deaf Inc: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCoM1KfRfRwaVEMFdhUmpE8w

Our CDHE team had a great time connecting with everyone at the DeafNation Expo in Mesa, AZ last Saturday.

Come visit our booth on Oct. 14th in Portland, OR and Nov. 4th in Chicago! We would love to chat with you about our research.

Come and watch Dr. Kushalnagar and Emmanuel's stage presentation, "Breaking Barriers: Deaf Health," 2:30-3:00 pm PST!

The stage schedule for Mesa Expo is available at https://deafnation.com/expo/2023mesa/ Mark your calendar for Saturday, October 7, 2023!

Kudos to our Event Sponsors: ZVRS T-Mobile Accessibility sComm Convo Sorenson Amazon.com Arizona Commission for the Deaf and the Hard of Hearing

Yesterday, Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku and Erika Bergeron of the Center for Deaf Health Equity shared their team's findings at the 2023 HINTS Data Users Conference!

Bergeron presented findings that highlighted how deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing (DDBHH) adults are less likely to be screened for colorectal cancer than hearing adults.

In his presentation, Perrodin-Njoku and co-authors called for the use of an intersectional lens to help improve access to cancer screening among DHH adults.

To learn more about these presentations, see photos #1 and #2 to read the full posters.

Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar and Emmanuel Perrodin-Njoku presented updated findings on health inequities in the Black Deaf community this summer at the 30th National Black Deaf Advocates (NBDA) Conference in Birmingham, Alabama. Their presentation was a six-year follow-up to the Center for Deaf Health Equity's presentation on the same topic at the 2017 conference.

For more information about this study, visit this link: https://gallaudet.edu/deafhealth/health-disparities-among-black-deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-americans-as-compared-to-black-hearing-americans/

We have been busy this summer! Back in June, Dr. Poorna Kushalnangar, Dr. Donalda Ammons, Dr. Jaime Wilson, Smitha Hanumantha, Christine Gannon, and Stacey Lawrence gathered at the 2023 Deaf Seniors of America Conference held in Hollywood, Florida.

Attendees of the World Federation of the Deaf 19th World Congress 2023 in Jeju, South Korea recently had the opportunity to watch Dr. Poorna Kushalnagar and Leticia Arellano present, representing the Center of Deaf Health Equity at Gallaudet University. They spoke on the value of information sharing through storytelling by Deaf cancer patients and intersectionality in cancer care, calling for more accessible cancer screenings and services.

We also want to acknowledge Leticia Arellano, Ai Minakawa, and Donalda Ammons for their assistance with interviewing storytellers and Jerrin George for translating all storytellers' stories into International Sign Language during the presentation.

Our Center for Deaf Health Equity team is at the National Deaf People of Color Conference at Gallaudet University until tomorrow! Swing by our booth and say hi!

Check out this video that explains what adverse childhood communication experiences (ACCEs) are and how they increase the risk of chronic diseases and mental health disorders among deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) adults.

Learn more about how to prevent ACCEs and their impact on the health of DHH people by visiting: gallaudet.edu/deafhealth/acces

ACCE animated video See the link for video description: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JDv2-VV_I3qzom_zk9-FOtADeCEJchp1/view?usp=drive_link

Attention Arizona Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or DeafBlind Older Adults

We need your input! We encourage you to take a moment to take our brief survey (~15 minutes) to show the need for funding and additional services throughout Arizona. Both ASL and English versions are provided.

Link to our survey: https://bit.ly/acdhhsenior

Please share!

____________________

Image Description:

The top image of older adults, men and women, taking a selfie with a smartphone. On the bottom left corner of the image is an orange box with white text inside that reads: "Are you 55+ and an Arizona resident? We need your input! Our goal is to gather information to show the need for funding and additional services for Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and DeafBlind, older adults throughout Arizona." Underneath is a QR code with black text on the right saying, "Scan QR Code for the ASL or English Text Survey. Below is the link to the survey "Link: https://bit.ly/acdhhsenior. On the right is purple text saying "Arizona Healthcare for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing Survey," with black text underneath saying, "Your personal information and survey responses are completely confidential. Your information will not be shared with the public. Below is the Age of Access logo in purple and orange. "Age of Access, empowering communities with equal access for the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind."

We'd love your help getting the word out about our upcoming film project.

The Center for Deaf Health Equity received a federal grant from the National Institutes of Health to promote cancer screenings in our deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing community. The Center for Deaf Health Equity will develop ASL videos of patient stories to reach out and educate our community about cancer screenings. The film will be in ASL and posted on our Center website.

We are looking for ASL storytellers in DC, MD, and/or VA who have experienced screenings for either breast, lung, and prostate cancer for our film. The interview will be very short, 3 to 5 minutes. If interested in taking a part in this exciting project and/or for more information, send an email to ([email protected]).