Louisiana State University All of Us Research Program Questions

1) Learn about (or refresh your knowledge of) the All of Us Research Program. 

Read the Program Overview website: https://allofus.nih.gov/about/program-overview

Read the Program FAQ’s: https://allofus.nih.gov/about/faq

Watch the All of Us Research Program National Launch Event Highlights video:

2) Then respond to the following questions with at least three ideas/three sentences for each question:

What are the most important things you learned about the All of Us Research Program?

How will you use what you have learned in the future?

How do you foresee the All of Us Research Program intersecting with health informatics?

What other questions/comments/concerns do you have and would like to share with your classmates regarding the All of Us Research Program?

To make things a little more conversational, attempt to end your post with a question while replying to your two peers.

#1 Hi Ali,

I love your question about how can we make sure our information shared isn’t going to be misused? I honestly thought of this question when I shared my dna with 23&Me. So let’s say I died and my remains are able to be distinguished enough to know it’s me. Well, maybe by me sharing my dna it could shed some light on a situation like I explained. Or if a crime occurred and the criminal left evidence then I could see how it could be beneficial.

I only see the misuse of the information shared by someone breaking into this facility or the company sharing/selling the product with another company that shouldn’t be allowed to have it. 

After doing the 23&Me they can keep your sample upon request or discard it. I personally haven’t thought whether to discard it or allow it to help other people or allowing them to do further research if other testing come up. Like for other diseases or there’s a different variant that can be discovered. I myself did research and spent a lot of hours in the lab so I know how crucial it can be to have that fresh living sample. 

Overall, I hope the information isn’t misused and is for the greater good. Maybe certain foods can be regulated due to people getting more involved because the environment we live in is always changing. And maybe this information can help control the change of the environment to were it’s not so hard on the human body. 

#2 What are the most important things you learned about the All of Us Research Program?

A few important things I’ve learned about the All of Us Research Program were the historic effort to collect and study data from one million or more people living in the United States. The goal of the program is better health for all of us. Researchers will be able to test to see if people are sick or are at risk of getting sick, better mobile apps to encourage healthy habits and better medicine or information about how much of a medicine is right for each person. Their mission is to accelerate health research and medical breakthroughs, enabling individualized prevention, treatment, and care for all of us. This mission is carried out through three connected focus areas that are supported and made possible by a team that maintains a culture built around the program’s core values.

How will you use what you have learned in the future?

I would want to become a part of the All of Us Research Program as a community engagement partner. This would help me conduct a wide range of activities, including engaging and facilitating enrollment. Also, engage with researchers from diverse backgrounds to utilize the All of Us data resources to advance precision medicine. As a future Health Educator, I believe this program is a good resource to advocate for my community and I will be contributing to an effort to improve the health of generations to come.

How do you foresee the All of Us Research Program intersecting with health informatics?

The All of Us research program collects data to input into their database. The way they collect data and lay it out is efficient because it’s by differences and similarities.  As well as they are improving their technology, and data to improve the safety and quality of the people such as by creating apps to encourage healthier habits. By having better collaboration and coordination among healthcare providers it serves a purpose. 

What other questions/comments/concerns do you have and would like to share with your classmates regarding the All of Us Research Program?

I have never heard of the All of Us Research Program. I was very intrigued by it because I find it to be a very effective program that will make a difference in people’s lives for the better. A comment I have is if you join, it is a commitment and you will be contributing to research that may improve the health of everyone. A concern I have is when each individual joins and inputs their data I think it’s important that the data is accurate to the best of their knowledge because that can truly affect the data and cause issues. The two questions I have how will the All of Us Research program help each of us? How long will the All of Us Research Program last?