Research

Yonaira's Latino/a/x health communication research suggests that cultural values and other cultural connectors play a salient role in how source and message factors influence health (mis)information engagement, as well as in how they assess information credibility and choose to act upon it. Her applied work ensures materials are developed to meet the unique needs of local communities through the use of health communication best practices.

In an effort to address the constraints of only using quantitative metrics to assess health information engagement on social media, Yonaira developed the social media content and context elicitation method. This mixed-methods approach allows for a better representation of how individuals engage with and assess health (mis)information in reality, and how these interactions influence behaviors.

Yonaira's work to foment digital health equity explores culturally and linguistically-tailored communication across social media platforms, mobile apps, and AI chatbots. This research includes utilizing popular platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp for cancer education among Latino/a/xs, assessing language equity in ChatGPT responses to health-related questions, and developing policy guidelines for multilingual chatbots.

Adequately addressing inequities requires building trust and collaborating with local communities. Through the use of community-based participatory research principles, Yonaira has conducted community needs assessment and delivered capacity building workshops in Puerto Rico in response to Hurricane María. Her current work further explores the role of social media as a trusted communication infrastructure during public health emergencies.

Research Agenda

Team

Rivera's research team comprises highly motivated students and mentees dedicated to excelling in their academic pursuits.

Graduate students and mentees

Ben Rholdan S. Pereira

Ben Rholdan is a PhD candidate in Communication. The focus of his research now lies in health communication initiatives for underserved communities in the global south. His particular interest is in reaching out to those residing in communities within the Brazilian Amazon. He aims to expand his work on preventing tropical diseases among riverside communities in Brazil. He conducts research in English and Portuguese.

Kaelin Smith, MHCI

Kaelin earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Psychology and a Master’s in Health Communication and Information from Rutgers University. Her academic and professional experiences have centered on the intersection of communication, health, and community engagement. She currently works as a Development Specialist with ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, supporting fundraising and events that help advance the organization’s mission to find cures and save children.

Andrea Vizcarra

Andrea earned a Bachelor of Science in Microbiology from Rutgers University. Her academic interests include medical sociology, health disparities, and health communication. As a Douglass Faculty Fellow, Andrea contributed to the development of a digital health literacy curriculum for Latina promotoras. She aspires to combine science communication and community-driven research to promote positive health outcomes for minority communities.

Nicole Mendoza

Nicole Mendoza is a PhD candidate in Communication. Her previous research at UC Santa Barbara focused on a stress-resilience-thriving framework regarding the undocumented immigration status of college students. Her research explores culturally grounded interpersonal communication in patient-provider relationships and health inequities among the Latino community. Her work uses a socio-ecological and intersectional lens to better understand health inequities that exist among vulnerable populations.

Nabila Marthellato

Nabila is a graduate student pursuing a Master’s in Public Health with a concentration in Global Public Health. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Health and Wellness Communication and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from Rutgers University. She is particularly interested in maternal and child health, health disparities, access to care, community health, health education, and health communication.

Naomy Azcona, MPH

Naomy earned a Master of Public Health from Rutgers University and has contributed to community-engaged research projects focused on language development among dual-language learners from low-income Latino backgrounds. She is particularly interested in using interdisciplinary frameworks and mixed method approaches to understand and promote literacy development within this community. Her work aims to enlist community outreach initiatives to enhance knowledge and ultimately improve health outcomes.

Yiting Liu

Yiting Liu is a PhD student in Communication at Rutgers University. Her research interests primarily lie in social support at the intersection of family and health contexts, aiming to help people achieve high-quality supportive communication. Another line of her previous work broadly focuses on older adults and technology use, with culture as an important background. Overall, she hopes to use her research to support people at a disadvantage in coping with challenges and living better lives.

M. J. Salas, MA

M.J. Salas is a PhD candidate in Communication whose interests reside at the intersection of health and critical, interpersonal communication with a focus on identity. Using transdisciplinary, mixed-methods approaches, they seek to answer research questions about the health and healthcare experiences of racial, ethnic, sexual, and gender minorities. They are motivated to reduce health disparities via community-engaged, culturally-tailored health interventions to affect positive change for minoritized populations and their health.

Undergraduate students

NyJae Shipley

NyJae is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Communication with a specialization in Strategic Public Communication and Public Relations and a Master of Communication & Media at Rutgers. Her academic and professional interests include strategic communication, public relations, digital media, and health communication. As a research assistant, NyJae contributes to the development of a digital health literacy curriculum for Spanish-speaking promotoras and assists with the translation and validation of a Spanish-language health literacy measure. Her work includes developing research materials, supporting recruitment, data collection and analysis, and contributing to the development and design of digital health literacy modules.

Jackson Chin

Jackson is senior at Rutgers University double-majoring in Communication and Journalism & Media Studies with a minor in Business Administration. He has experience in health communication research, PR and media writing, and AI literacy, applying communication theory to real-world campaigns and digital projects. As a research assistant, Jackson contributes to the development of a digital health literacy curriculum for Spanish-speaking promotoras. His work includes developing research materials, supporting recruitment, data collection and analysis, and contributing to the development and design of digital health literacy modules.

yonaira@rutgers.edu

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