For over two decades, Charlene Caburnay has been at the forefront of designing, developing, and evaluating health communication programs at the Health Communication Research Laboratory, directly addressing critical public health issues such as cancer, diabetes, COVID-19, childhood immunization and chronic diseases. She has created communications aimed at a variety of audiences, including smokers, families at inner-city public health centers and readers of Black newspapers, underscoring the importance of tailored health communication in improving public health outcomes.
Caburnay’s broad research interests encompass technology-based communication programs, health media interventions, health communication, childhood immunization and community-level chronic disease interventions. Her research aims to enrich the information environment in communities burdened by disease and poverty. By expediting the dissemination of evidence-based, communication-based interventions to disadvantaged minority populations, her work contributes significantly to health equity and the overall improvement of public health.
In her projects, Caburnay collaborates closely with graduate and undergraduate research assistants, supported by a dedicated team. This collaborative approach ensures that her work is comprehensive and effective, enhancing the capacity of public health systems to meet the needs of diverse communities and strengthen public health infrastructure.
Areas of focus:
- Technology-based communication programs
- Health media analysis and interventions
- Health and cancer communications
- Community-level chronic disease interventions