Rachel Garg’s research examines how individual-level unmet social needs, such as housing instability and food insecurity, impact health outcomes and behaviors such as smoking cessation. By building theory around the mechanisms linking social needs and health, she aims to inform the development of interventions that address these needs and reduce health disparities.  

Garg is a member of the Health Communication Research Laboratory, where she is deeply involved in health disparities research. Her work encompasses the surveillance of social needs, health communication, program evaluation, and the development and testing of interventions. Notably, she has worked on interventions to help low-income smokers quit and has analyzed data from 211 helplines to assess the social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Garg has contributed to the field through publications in journals such as the Annual Review of Public Health, Health Affairs, and the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Her research not only advances academic knowledge but also provides actionable insights for practitioners working to improve health outcomes and equity. 

Areas of focus:

  • Smoking cessation 
  • Social determinants of health
  • Social needs

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