Chase Reece, BSHP '24

Today, I looked into background information about the All of Us research program and biorepository and also spent time collecting and analyzing demographics about Asian populations in our state. The All of Us program is managed by the National Institute of Health, and its main goal is to improve medical care through individualized and targeted research, prevention, and treatment. The program is working to achieve this goal by creating a large genetic database, especially emphasizing minority and underserved populations. By creating a large database that is able to characterize the overall health and determinants of health for many different populations, healthcare professionals will be able to better treat individual patients’ needs through the use of this information. However, privacy is a concern for many people who may be skeptical of enrolling in the database and providing samples, and even more so in rural communities. Because of potential concerns and attitudes towards this program, we are aiming to identify barriers to participation in underrepresented rural communities, in addition to holding focus groups and pilot testing behavioral interventions to improve participation with this project.