Health Advocacy - BELLE OMNILEY

Belle Omniley Health Advocacy Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Stay in the Know: COVID-19

This post is sponsored by All of Us Research Program but all thoughts and comments are my own.

Greetings. I pray this post finds you well and in good spirits. A little over a year after the world as we once knew it seemed to have stopped we are now nearing some sense of normalcy. When I last checked on June 1 the state of Louisiana was at ~31.7% completed vaccination rates (LADHH). It’s important to check the facts. I myself am a healthcare professional and believe wholeheartedly in the importance of being informed, represented, and supported. That’s one of the main reasons why I partnered with All of Us Research Program and support their efforts in the fight against COVID-19.

COVID-19 has disproportionately impacted the African American community. According to the CDC, Black Americans are:

1.4x more likely to get COVID-19

3.7x more likely to be hospitalized

2.8x more likely to die from COVID-19 than white Americans (CDC, 2020)

We already know unfortunately that African Americans are currently being vaccinated at a lower rate than white Americans. This is due to both a lack of access and distrust in the medical community. All of Us Research Program was built to help researchers find answers to pressing health issues, although it was not designed to support a pandemic response, the program’s scientists worked quickly to identify activities that could meaningfully contribute to COVID-19 research. COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on communities of color makes the All of Us Research Program’s contribution especially important in efforts to learn more about COVID-19 and related health disparities.

The All of Us Research Program initiated three scientific activities to help us better understand COVID-19 and inform current and future pandemic responses. The three activities include the COVID-19 Participant Experience (COPE) Survey, antibody testing, and electronic health records (EHR) integration.

All of Us Research Program launched the COPE Survey in May of 2020, asking current participants how COVID-19 is affecting them and their communities, even those who don’t get sick from COVID-19. The survey ran through early March 2021 and covered subjects on mental health, social distancing, and economic impacts of the pandemic. Through this initiative researchers now have access to information from participants’ experience with COVID-19 and it amounts to the biggest infusion of mental health data in the program thus far.

Antibody testing was also utilized in an effort to help researchers learn more about when and where COVID-19 arrived in the United States and how it affects different communities. This program tested participants’ blood samples for the COVID-19 antibodies which may tell us if a person has been exposed to the virus in the past. All participants gave informed consent to the samples and all results will be unanimously published in a summary of the findings.

All of Us Research Program also implemented the usage of electronic health records. Electronic health records (EHRs) are a digital version of your medical chart. Participants’ privacy is the program’s top priority and a key part of their process has been removing personally identifiable information before researchers can use the data. By adding EHR information to All of Us Research Program database, they can help researchers study many different problems, including COVID-19 Researchers may learn more about different symptoms and underlying health conditions, as well as the effects of different medicines and treatments.

All of Us Research Program has a goal of one million participants. People who decide to join will share information about their health, habits, and what it’s like where they live. By looking for patterns in this unidentifiable information, researchers may learn more about what affects people’s health. This program is expected to run for 10 years or more currently; this will allow researchers to study health over time. If you decide to join the All of Us Research Program, you will be contributing to an effort to improve the health of generations to come. You also may learn about your own health. I challenge you today to become a part of the solution. You can sign up and help drive research forward by clicking here.

As always I’m grateful for you following along and staying informed! It means the world to me. Be Well-Omniley.

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Belle Omniley Health Advocacy Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Be A Part of the Solution: Research is Key

This post is sponsored by All of Us Research Program but all thoughts and comments are my own.

Greetings. I hope this post finds you well. It’s almost summer and we are finally returning to some sense of normalcy. With all that has transpired in the past year and a half, I wanted to talk to all of you about something that is near and dear to my heart; promoting informed health awareness.

One way of staying informed is to ensure you are represented in medical research. Precision medicine is based on the individual. It can help us learn the best way to stay healthy and give health care providers a better understanding of how to approach individuals differently. Precision medicine could change the way we treat disease.

I recently partnered with the All of Us Research Program and I am amazed how they actively work with partnered organizations to build trust in communities and help educate people about the importance of research. The All of Us Research Program is inviting one million people across the U.S. to help build one of the most diverse health databases in history by becoming a partner.

Contributing to All of Us makes it possible for our community to be represented in medical research. Black/African Americans make up 13.4% of the U.S. population, but only 5% of clinical trial participants. The fact of the matter is, many communities including ours have been left out of research in the past or were not even invited to take part.

Our Changing Nation: Black Population in the U.S.: 2000-2060

Unfortunately without diverse data, researchers can’t consider the needs of everyone when developing treatments and prevention strategies. Participants from all backgrounds are welcomed. Researchers use the data to learn how our biology, lifestyle, and environment affect health.

Many communities face health disparities. In order to better understand these disparities, more research is needed. I know when we think about the research we may immediately reference the Tuskegee Syphilis Study and our lack of trust sets in, but with All of Us, participants will be true partners–not subjects–with ongoing opportunities to help shape the program with their input.

Taking into account information reported in 2017, Louisiana is among the 10 states with the largest Black population. I encourage you to take the next step and sign up for All of Us Research Program. I’m asking you to get involved to ensure we will all be represented. You can sign up and help drive research forward by clicking here. As always, thank you for your support; it means a lot to me.

Be Well-Omniley

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Belle Omniley

Find me on: Web | Instagram