Poorna Kushalnagar
Poorna Kushalnagar, Ph.D., is a principal investigator of multi-million grants, close to $15 million, funded by the National Institute of Health (NIH) that support studies aligned with her research interest: patient-centered outcomes, cancer health communication, and applied interventions to reduce deaf health disparities. In addition to directing the Center for Deaf Health Equity, Dr. Kushalnagar serves as the Dean of Research and Chief Research Officer for Gallaudet University.
Presentation
Adverse Childhood Communication Experiences
Deaf and hard of hearing adults who experienced severe adverse childhood communication experiences (ACCEs) as children are at increased risk for acquiring chronic diseases and comorbidity. Toxic stress as a result of adverse childhood communication experiences is not only related to the quality of one-on-one parental communication, but also related to deaf and hard of hearing children’s access to incidental information through family communication and environment. If the severity is high in which the child is deprived of language or experience barriers to accessing family group communication, this has a negative and long-term impact on the child’s physical and mental health well-being. The audience can help co-produce solutions to prevent or reduce ACCEs. A collaborative effort is needed to effectively reach this goal, which will ultimately reduce health disparities among deaf and hard of hearing people.