Funding from Scripps Research will expedite enrollment of diverse participants in National Institutes of Health's All of Us Research Program
Washington, DC (July 17, 2023) - Pyxis Partners, a leading public affairs and social impact firm that advances health equity, access and affordability, with a unique expertise in authentic work around elevating the voices of those historically underrepresented in biomedical research, has been selected to receive funding from Scripps Research to expand the NIH All of Us Research Program national community partner network. The All of Us Research Program has created the largest and most diverse health dataset of its kind to help accelerate precision medicine and decrease health disparities. Its goal is to enroll and engage at least 1 million people across the country to expedite medical breakthroughs and improve health for everyone.
Over the next five years, Scripps will grow its network of blood banks to expand the All of Us Research Program’s enrollment infrastructure. At the same time, Pyxis Partners will expand its community partner network to ensure there is an engagement infrastructure - grounded in local, trusted voices - to educate community members about the program and move them from awareness to enrollment through their local blood bank.
“Pyxis Partners is excited to partner with Scripps Research to build an engagement infrastructure alongside their enrollment infrastructure,” said Ronnie Tepp, Principal at Pyxis Partners and Principal Investigator of the award. “Over the past seven years, our team has built and supports a national network of community partners that reach and engage diverse communities across the country. These partners have helped the All of Us Research Program build a diverse participant community. This collaboration between the Scripps Research and Pyxis Partners teams ensures that community voices and trusted messengers are trained and active in communities where enrollment partners are available to support potential participants in moving through the enrollment pathway.”
Community partners who have the ability to host mobile blood drives and to host enrollment events at their facility in partnership with the local blood bank will be selected in six markets.
This engagement infrastructure ensures that recruitment and enrollment of participants leads to an All of Us participant community that is reflective of the diversity of our country. It has been well documented that the current demographics of blood bank donors do not reflect the diversity of our country. “America’s Blood Centers estimates that less than 20 percent of all blood donations currently come from communities of color.”[1] In addition, “African Americans are approximately half as likely to donate [blood] as whites”.[2]
Pyxis Partners was one of the initial engagement awardees of the of the All of Us Research Program in 2016, and in 2017 created the Community and Provider Gateway Initiative (CPGI) of what is now more than 100 community based partners who have worked to educate their communities about the program and move them to enroll in the program. To date, more than 640,000 community members have enrolled. Participants in All of Us get back information about their health, including, for some people, DNA results.
[1] HHS Announces New Campaign to Increase U.S. Blood and Plasma Donations. Press Release. August 4, 2002.
[2] Shaz BH, Zimring JC, Demmons DG, Hillyer CD. Blood donation and blood transfusion: Special considerations for African Americans. Transfus Med Rev. 2008; 22: 202-214
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Pyxis Partners is a Washington, DC based public affairs and social impact firm that advances health equity, access and affordability with a unique expertise in authentic work around elevating the voices of those historically underrepresented in the healthcare and clinical trial universe. The firm is defined by developing creative solutions that create pathways to progress which are anchored in a commitment to improving the lives of others and building up communities. Pyxis Partners is fueled by a collective passion for lifting the voice of those who have been underrepresented. The firm is a Certified LGBT Business Enterprise with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) and Certified by the Department of Small and Local Business Development (DSLBD) as a District of Columbia Certified Business Enterprise.