Her interdisciplinary research examines the mechanisms that patient-centered communication between older African American men and their physicians during the course of cancer and chronic disease care. She tests ways of intervening to increase family and health provider social support while examining how African American men navigate and express their psychosocial needs during medical visits. Currently, Mitchell is funded by the National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, to investigate how African American men and their physicians accommodate each other’s communications styles during medical encounters, in addition to evaluating how active patient participation and family involvement influence the health communication dynamic.