Engagement Plan for Increasing Representation in Biomedical Research: A Community Collaboration Between Case Western Reserve University Health Science Graduate Students, Cleveland Clinic BioRepository, and the Fairfax Neighborhood of Cleveland, Ohio
Background: Enhancing diverse participation in research and specimen collection, especially in historically underrepresented populations, is essential to attaining personalized medicine. The Cleveland Clinic BioRepository (CC-BioR) opened in October 2021 in Cleveland’s Fairfax neighborhood, where >90% of residents are Black. Leveraging this new opportunity to increase diverse engagement in research, 7 health professional students from Case Western Reserve University (Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Social Work, Speech-Language Pathology) collaborated with Cleveland Clinic’s Research Access Center (RAC) and the Fairfax Renaissance Development Corporation (FRDC) to generate an engagement plan. This project aimed to evaluate Fairfax residents’ preferred engagement methods, grading tactics to increase diverse specimen collection, and set a precedent for the continued cultivation of trust and open communication between residents and the CC-BioR.
Methods: The students first gained an understanding of the CC-BioR and the Fairfax neighborhood by partnering with the FRDC. Subsequently, the students conducted a focus group to elicit the thoughts of Fairfax residents about the CC-BioR and engaging in biomedical research. The students graded the residents’ 9 preferred engagement methods based on likelihood of feasibility and efficacy after discussing them with the RAC.
Results: 83% of residents in the focus group did not have prior knowledge about the CC-BioR. Distributing flyers to places identified by a student-generated community asset map of the Fairfax neighborhood, creating brochures and surveys for patient visits, and advertisements in apps such as NextDoor and the Fairfax monthly newsletter were identified as the most feasible and effective methods the residents endorsed.
Conclusion: As part of a targeted outreach approach, the key elements to include in each engagement strategy varied based on implementation phase. Since most residents were unaware of the CC-BioR, initial efforts will contain educational content before shifting into a more balanced approach of education and invitations to donate specimens and become actively involved in the CC-BioR.
Reflections: Although initially unfamiliar with the CC-BioR, Fairfax residents were eager to learn more and donate specimens to advance personalized medicine, especially with diseases commonly afflicting their community, such as Alzheimer’s Disease and hypertension. Working as an interprofessional team, we learned to become comfortable with ambiguity in the planning process and navigating the large CCF system to have a maximal, sustained impact.
Fulfills Core Criteria: We sought to cultivate partnerships between the CC-BioR and RAC with the FRDC, Fairfax residents, and underrepresented minorities to ultimately improve population health through increasing diverse participation in research that undergirds biomedical advancements.
