PROGRAM MAKES STOPS TO BUILD DIVERSE DATABASE
A national initiative that aims to build a diverse health database and to connect with communities that have been historically underrepresented in medical research made a stop in Longmont on Tuesday afternoon.
The All of Us program, an Obama-era initiative that’s run by the National Institutes of Health, hopes to advance precision medicine, which is based on a person as an individual and takes into account a person’s environment, lifestyle, family health history and genetic makeup.
It’s important to have a diverse health database, at least in part because of the fact that health conditions affect races and ethnicities differently. For example, the All of Us program reports that Asian Americans have the highest proportion of undiagnosed diabetes at 51% while African Americans are three times more likely to die of asthma than their white counterparts.
Despite this, research indicates more than 80% of the individuals who participate in clinical studies in genetics are white.
According to Harvard Business Review, clinical trials primarily enroll white, male patients with consistent underrepresentation of women, the elderly, and people of color — especially Black and Hispanic patients. While people of color make up about 39% of the U.S. population, these groups represent from 2% to 16% of patients in trials.
“One of our biggest things is being able to show that everyone matters,” All of Us program tour manager Reuben Campino said.
“It’s very important to be able to change not only the way that we look at health but our intergenerational health,” he added.
That’s what tour manager Jerry Phelps noted, too.
Unlike some other marketing jobs he’s had, “this has a worldly purpose,” he said.
“I may not see the difference that it makes, but my grandkids’ grandkids may,” Phelps added.
The All of Us research program began in 2018 and has visited more than 100 cities in more than 40 states. To date, more than 350,000 people have enrolled and completed the
initial steps with more than 80% belonging to communities that have been historically underrepresented in biomedical research, the program notes.
The mobile exhibit, which returns to Longmont’s Roosevelt Park on Wednesday before moving to the Louisville Recreation & Senior Center on Thursday and Friday, features hands-on activities, including an augmented reality experience and interactive stations designed to help visitors learn about precision medicine research.
Those interested in participating in the program could then register, take a health survey and provide blood samples.
The more enrollment and representation in a particular area, the more researchers will be able to help address health issues that are prevalent in the community.
Richard Van Scotter was among those who participated in the program on a Tuesday afternoon at Roosevelt Park in Longmont. Van Scotter said he noticed the tent while walking into the Longmont Senior Services Center.
When asked what made him want to participate, he said curiosity was the main draw.
Generally, in terms of the importance of the program, Campino often points to a wall of the mobile exhibit where people can share their story.
Some said they chose to participate in the program for their family.
“My wife is a breast cancer survivor. My dad died of cancer. Hope my kids will be fine,” one person wrote.
Another wrote that their goal was “to help improve the health of future generations.”