On May 6, 2018, the Black Women’s Health Imperative and many other partners from around the country began outreach and awareness around the All of Us Research Program. It has been an amazing year. For decades there has been a cloud around African American participation in clinical trials.
Our team has worked on the ground, having conversations with hundreds of Black women at events such as the United State of Women in Los Angeles, Power Rising both in Atlanta last year, and again this year in New Orleans. We’ve been to Detroit, Washington, D.C. and other cities explaining the importance of Black women’s participation in the All of Us Research Program and in precision medicine. But we were not alone, this past year, All of Us partners held more than 1500 events in more than 35 states to raise awareness about the program and share information on how to enroll.
Last year Dara Richardson-Heron, M.D., Chief Engagement Officer for the All of Us Research Program, joined us in a Facebook Live event to explain why the program is important to African Americans and what it means for the future of medical treatments. She has also spoken to more than 60 communities across the country, sharing news about the program’s progress and encouraging more people to participate.
All of Us has prioritized the discovery of new precision medicine treatment and prevention options by creating a public resource of diverse volunteer data so that researchers can get to the science—and the medical breakthroughs based on their discoveries—much faster, without having to spend excessive amounts of time finding participants for their own research. By establishing a large, diverse, and long-term dataset that many researchers can turn to allows research to move more quickly.
Since the national launch of the program, BWHI and other organizations have supported promotion and enrollment of more than 180,000 individuals. The program aims to have 75% of participants come from communities that have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research and 50% from racial and ethnic diversity. As we celebrate the one-year milestone, the program is meeting and exceeding this goal.
Want to Know More?
If you’d like to know more, join us as we celebrate the anniversary on May 6, 2019, at 10am ET, when the National Institutes of Health will host an event, “From Data to Discoveries: Creating a Research Program for All of Us.” The event will be streamed on NIH’s Facebook page, and it will include remarks from Director of the NIH, Dr. Francis Collins and the All of Us Research Program Director, Eric Dishman.
Join All of Us
It’s not too late to be a part of the process. You and your adult family members can always enroll in the program at JoinAllofUs.org/together.