The American Association on Health and Disability calls on people with disabilities to engage with All of Us

The American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD) is calling on people with disabilities to learn more about the All of Us Research Program. AAHD has issued this Call to Action to highlight the importance and impact that All of Us can have on the disability community. AAHD is working to encourage people with disabilities to get involved in this research program that includes historically under-represented populations in biomedical research, including persons with disabilities.

“I’m proud that AAHD can play a pivotal role to help the All of Us Research Program communicate and engage with people with disabilities. It is only through active engagement that the voices from the disability community can be heard and integrated into improving future health outcomes that are tailored to the challenges people with disabilities face,” said Roberta S. Carlin, MS, JD, AAHD Executive Director.

The All of Us Research Program is seeking to advance precision medicine for all populations. Precision medicine is an emerging approach to disease treatment and prevention that considers differences in people’s lifestyles, environments and biological makeup, including genes. By partnering with one million or more diverse participants, who share information about themselves over many years, the All of Us Research Program will enable research to more precisely prevent and treat a variety of health conditions.

AAHD is raising public awareness about All of Us among people with disabilities by distributing this Call to Action to its partner organizations across the country. Its partner organizations conduct local outreach within the disability community at the Center for Independence of the Disabled, NY (CIDNY) in New York, Lakeshore Foundation in Alabama, the University of Montana Rural Institute in Montana, and the University of New Mexico Center for Development and Disability in New Mexico. AAHD’s partner organizations also take part in its national outreach activities.

AAHD’s Call to Action challenges the disability community to embrace “nothing about us without us.” As stated in the Call to Action, “People with disabilities are being encouraged to participate and are being asked to enroll in a study that can directly impact how health care is received in the future. If we truly believe in the concept of ‘nothing about us without us,’ then we must answer the call when asked to participate.”

To learn more about this Call to Action, please visit the AAHD website here. To learn more about the All of Us Research Program and AAHD’s involvement, contact our Director of Public Health Programs, Karl Cooper.

To learn more about the program and how to join, please visit https://www.JoinAllofUs.org/

– Press release re-posted from the AAHD