Navatar Health
Our approach

Understanding people
is part of understanding care.

Clinical information matters. So does how it is introduced, who delivers it, and whether it connects with a patient’s experience.

Start with the human context.

People make health decisions within the context of their language, identity, relationships, and previous experiences. Navatar’s approach brings that context into the way patient education is designed and delivered.

Make information approachable.

Avatar-led communication provides a familiar point of connection. Clear explanations and a preferred language can help make the next step easier to understand.

Bring clinical and behavioral perspectives together.

Our team and advisors span gastroenterology, cancer prevention, health equity, population health, and behavioral science. Those perspectives inform the product’s focus on communication and patient navigation.

Keep the evidence in context.

Our founder’s research and our advisors’ perspectives inform our approach. Their publications and professional experience are distinct from measured outcomes of the Navatar platform.

Meet the team and advisors
Selected research and publications by Dr. David Perdue
  • Perdue DG, Bulkow LR, Petersen KM, Singleton R, Gellin B, Davidson M, Parkinson AJ. Invasive Haemophilus influenzae disease in Alaskan Adults 1980-1996: The impact of childhood vaccination programs on adult morbidity. JAMA. 2000;283(23):3089-94
  • Perdue DG, Nelson DB. Virtual virtual colonoscopy? Gastroenterology. 2001;121:221-2 
  • Perdue DG, Murray J, Wang KK. The wizards of odds: cost-effectiveness, Barrett's screening, and surveillance guidelines. Clin Gastroenterol H. 2004;2:865-7
  • Chutkan RK, Ahmad AS, Cohen J, Cruz-Correa MR, Desilets DJ, Dominitz JA, Dunkin BJ, Kantsevoy SV, McHenry L Jr, Mishra G, Perdue D, Petrini JL, Pfau PR, Savides TJ, Telford JJ, Vargo JJ. ERCP core curriculum. Gastrointest  Endosc. 2006;63(3):361-76
  • Perdue DG, Schwartzenberg SJ, Cass O, Milla C, Dunitz J, Jesserun J, Sharp HL. Hepatolithiasis and cholangiocarcinoma in cystic fibrosis. Digest Dis Sci. 2007;52(10):2638-42
  • Perdue DG, Perkins C, Jackson-Thompson J, Ahmed F, Coughlin SC, Haverkamp D, Jim M. Regional differences in colorectal cancer incidence, stage, and subsite among American Indians and Alaska Natives, 1999-2004. Cancer. 2008;113(S5):1179-90
  • Jim MA, Perdue DG, Richardson LC, Espey DK, Redd JT, Martin J, Kwong SL, Kelly JJ, Henderson JA, Ahmed F. Primary liver cancer incidence among American Indians and Alaska Natives, 1999-2004. Cancer. 2008;113(S5):1244-55
  • Lemrow S, Perdue DG, French H, Jim M, Richardson LC, Swan J, Stewart S, Edwards B, Wiggins C, Dickie L, Espey DK. Gallbladder cancer incidence and stage among American Indians and Alaska Natives, US, 1999-2004. Cancer. 2008;113(S5):1266-1273
  • Wiggins C, Perdue DG, Henderson JA, Edwards B, Jim MA, Espey DK. Gastric cancer among American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States, 1999-2004. Cancer. 2008;113(S5):1225-33
  • Perdue DG, Freeman ML, and the ERCOST Study Group. Plastic vs. self-expanding metal stents in hilar tumors; early complications and outcomes. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology. J Clin Gastroenterol. 2008:42(9) 1040-6
  • Haverkamp D, Perdue DG, Espey DK, Cobb N. A Survey of Indian Health Service and Tribal  Health Providers' Colorectal Cancer Screening Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices 
Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved - Volume 22, Number 1, February 2011, pp. 243-257
  • Perdue DG, Henderson JA, Garroutte E, Bogart A, Wen Y, Goldberg J, Buchwald D. Culture and colorectal cancer screening on three American Indian reservations. Ethn Dis 2011 Summer;21(3):342-8. PMID: 21942168.
  • Warne D, Kaur J, Perdue D. American Indian/Alaska Native cancer policy: systemic approaches to reducing cancer disparities. J Cancer Educ. 2012 Apr;27 Suppl 1:S18-23
  • Redwood D, Provost E, Perdue D, Haverkamp D, Espey D. The last frontier: innovative efforts to reduce colorectal cancer disparities among the remote Alaska Native population. Gastrointest Endosc. 2012 Mar;75(3):474-80.
  • Filippi MK, James AS, Brokenleg S, Talawyma M, Perdue DG, Choi WS, Greiner KA, Daley CM. Views, barriers, and suggestions for colorectal cancer screening among American Indian women older than 50 years in the midwest. J Prim Care Community Health 2013 Jul 1;4(3):160-6. PMID: 23799701.
  • Perdue DG, Chubak J, Bogart A, Dillard DA, Garroutte EM, Buchwald D. A comparison of colorectal cancer screening uptake among average-risk insured American Indian/Alaska Native and white women. J Health Care Poor Underserved 2013 Aug;24(3):1125-35. PMID: 23974386.
  • James AS, Filippi MK, Pacheco CM, Cully L, Perdue D, Choi WS, Greiner KA, Daley CM. Barriers to colorectal cancer screening among American Indian men aged 50 or older, Kansas and Missouri, 2006-2008. Prev Chronic Dis. 2013 Oct 3;10:E170.
  • Redwood D, Provost E, Asay E, Roberts D, Haverkamp D, Perdue D, Bruce MG, Sacco F, Espey D. Comparison of fecal occult blood tests for colorectal cancer screening in an Alaska Native population with high prevalence of Helicobacter pylori infection, 2008-2012. Prev Chronic Dis 2014 Apr 10;11:E56
  • Perdue DG, Haverkamp D, Perkins C, Daley CM, Provost E. Geographic variation in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality, age of onset, and stage at diagnosis among American Indian and Alaska Native people, 1990–2009. Am J Pub Health 2014; Apr 22
  • Suryaprasad A, Byrd KK, Redd JT, Perdue DG, Manos MM, McMahon BJ. Mortality caused by chronic liver disease among American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States, 1999–2009. Am J Pub Health 2014; Jun;104 Suppl 3:S350-8
  • Yeh HW, Gajewski BJ, Perdue DG, Cully A, Cully L, Greiner KA, Choi WS, Daley CM. Sorting it Out: Pile Sorting as a Mixed Methodology for Exploring Barriers to Cancer Screening. Qual Quant. 2014 Sep 1;48(5):2569-2587.
  • Perdue DG, Haverkamp D, Perkins C, Daley CM, Provost E. Geographic variation in colorectal cancer incidence and mortality, age of onset, and stage at diagnosis among American Indian and Alaska Native people, 1990-2009. Am J Public Health. 2014 Jun;104 Suppl 3:S404-14
  • Filippi MK, Perdue DG, Hester C, Cully A, Greiner KA, Daley CM.  Colorectal cancer screening practices among three American Indian communities in Minnesota. J Cult Divers. 2016 Spring:23(1) 21-7.
  • Nadeau M, Walaszek A, Perdue DG, Rhodes KL, Haverkamp D, Foster J. Influences and practices in colorectal cancer screening among health care providers serving Northern Plains American Indians, 2011-2012. Prev Chronic Dis. 2016 Dec 15; 13: E167.
  • Wang S, Kim AS, Church TR, Perdue DG, Shaukat A. Adenomas per colonoscopy and       adenoma per positive participant as quality indicators for screening colonoscopy. Endosc Int     Open. 2020 Nov;8(11):E1560-E1565
  • Feuerstein JD, Bilal M, Berzin TM, Calderwood AH, Guturu P, Juncadella AC, Ketwaroo G, Mishkin DS, Perdue DG, Sekhon S, Sengupta N, Singh S, Pleskow DK, Sawhney MS. Triage of General Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedures During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results From a National Delphi Consensus Panel. Tech Innov Gastrointest Endosc. 2021;23(2):113-121
  • Shaukat A, Rex DK, Shyne M, Church TR, Perdue DG. Adenoma Detection Rates for 45- to 49-Year-Old Screening Population. Gastroenterology. 2022 Mar;162(3):957-959
  • Rogers CR, Perdue DG, Boucher K, Korous KM, Brooks E, Petersen E, Inadomi JM, Tuuhetaufa F, Levant RF, Paskett ED. Masculinity Barriers to Ever Completing Colorectal Cancer Screening among American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and White Men (Ages 45- 75). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 5;19(5):3071
  • Brooks E, Islam JY, Perdue DG, Petersen E, Camacho-Rivera M, Kennedy C, Rogers CR. The Black Panther, Masculinity Barriers to Medical Care, and Colorectal Cancer Screening Intention Among Unscreened American Indian/Alaska Native, Black, and White Men. Front Public Health. 2022 Apr 6;10:814596
  • Shaukat A, Lichtenstein DR, Somers SC, Chung DC, Perdue DG, Gopal M, Colucci DR, Phillips SA, Marka NA, Church TR, Brugge WR; SKOUT™ Registration Study Team. Computer-Aided Detection Improves Adenomas per Colonoscopy for Screening and Surveillance Colonoscopy: A Randomized Trial Gastroenterology.. 2022 Sep;163(3):732-741
Advisor perspectives

Experience that informs our work.

"In healthcare, credibility is built through familiarity. When patients hear or see something that reflects their community, they start to listen differently. We have to think like marketers, educators, and behavioral scientists at the same time. Because what changes health outcomes isn’t information—it’s persuasion done right."TR Levin MD,   Clinical Lead, Colorectal Cancer Screening and Gap Closure, Kaiser Permanente
"If you want patients to respond, you have to meet them in their language, their humor, and their daily reality. Otherwise, they tune out….. The idea of an avatar being a care partner rather than just an instructor — that’s the difference between a tool people use once and a companion they trust."Jennifer Bueckner Pharm D. Former VP of Member Engagement and Cancer Screening Gap Closure, UnitedHealthcare
"We have to be creative and reach people where they are in ways that may not be as common as normal….Just because you have a college degree, or even a PhD, doesn’t necessarily mean that you have an idea about CRC and related early detection screening options.”Charles Rogers PHD MPH MS: Founder and President, Colorectal Cancer Equity Foundation
Let’s move care forward

Better understanding.
A more confident next step.

See what a more personal patient experience can look like.

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