





































Research Section Spotlight 

   

Hypothesis, vol. 30, no. 1, Fall/Winter 2018                                                                          54                                  

Diversity and inclusion: Potential trends for data in 
research 
 

Charlene Finley, MLS 
PhD Student 
School of Information and Library Science 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill 
finleyc@email.unc.edu 
 

Introduction 
From the pre-meeting emails by MLA leadership soliciting feedback on the proposed 

community models to the closing plenary speakers, the theme of the annual meeting, 

“Adapting, Transforming, and Leading,” was thoroughly integrated with all aspects of the 

118th  Medical Library Association Annual Meeting in Atlanta, GA. Amid the standard 

conference program, and the historical naming of Beverly Murphy as the first African-

American MLA president, the meeting fostered an environment of engagement and 

inclusiveness. 
 

The MLA’s Diversity and Inclusion Task Force and the Communities Strategic Goal Task 

Force promoted safe spaces for all MLA attendees to ask questions and voice their 

opinions on issues relevant to governance of MLA and their perceptions of diversity within 

the health and medical information profession. For example, attendees were afforded 

numerous venues and opportunities to collectively or individually speak with 

representatives from MLA’s Communities Strategic Goal Task Force with questions, 

comments, or concerns to the proposed restructuring of the MLA Section and Special 

Interest Groups (SIGs). The dialogues extended beyond formal spaces to informal spaces 

providing MLA attendees the opportunity for meaningful exchanges with health and 

medical information professionals from diverse perspectives and experiences. 

However, my main takeaway from the annual meeting was the overview by Dr. Dara 

Richardson-Heron of the All of Us Research Program (AoU). The presentation directly 

aligned with the annual meeting’s theme of “adapting, transforming, and leading,” and 

connected to my future research interest. 
 

Transformative Research in Practice 

Dr. Richardson-Heron is the Chief Engagement Officer of the National Institute of Health 

All of Us Research Program (AoU) and a health advocate. The main objective of AoU is to 

advance the Precision Medicine Initiative through the collection of data from more than a 

million participants over the span of a decade. The Precision Medicine Initiative is a 

transformative approach for treatment and disease prevention that focuses on the 

uniqueness of individuals and accounts for distinct factors, such as lifestyle, genetics, and 

habits to deliver “the right treatment for the right person at the right time” [1]. 

http://www.mlanet.org/blog/dara-richardson-heron
http://www.mlanet.org/blog/dara-richardson-heron
http://www.mlanet.org/blog/dara-richardson-heron
https://www.joinallofus.org/en
https://www.joinallofus.org/en
https://www.joinallofus.org/en
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/precisionmedicine/initiative
https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/primer/precisionmedicine/initiative


Research Section Spotlight 

   

Hypothesis, vol. 30, no. 1, Fall/Winter 2018                                                                          55                                  

Committed to implementing innovative policies and practices to increase the success of 

the program, AoU has established a set of core values as a framework to achieve 

widespread participation from diverse people, geography, health status, and data types. 

Dr. Richardson- Heron states these core values are very important to her. In response to 

unethical historic research practices (for example, Henrietta Lacks and the Tuskegee 

Syphilis study) that caused harm or excluded vulnerable populations, AoU has initiated 

policies and practices to re-establish participant trust and increase participation with, and 

transparency of, the research process and data collection through education, awareness, 

and immediate notifications of data breaches. AoU’s implementation of a transparent 

approach to research has the potential to benefit participants in meaningful ways. Some of 

the key benefits for participants include knowledge of health conditions and personal risk 

factors that may affect long-range health. In addition, participants will have access to their 

data to share with health care teams.         

Similarly, researchers will also benefit from the data collected in the ten-year longitudinal 

study at no cost in what Dr. Richardson-Heron describes as a democratized research 

model. The democratized model will afford researchers (1) a rich resource of data, (2) a 

longitudinal dataset, (3) a diverse cohort of research participants, (4) de-identified and 

anonymized raw data and data, (5) an existing secure data infrastructure, and (6) a 

collaborative working environment. 

Finally, expressing her appreciation for libraries and librarians, Dr. Richardson-Heron 

shared the plans of a three-year partnership with the National Network of Libraries of 

Medicine to design, develop, and implement activities for public libraries to make 

available to their local communities. The libraries role would be to educate and increase 

awareness of the All of Us research initiative, in addition to providing technology 

resources for individuals without access to the internet. 

Research and Advocacy 
The All of Us Research Program provides a framework for research considerations for all 

disciplines. In my future research, I will focus on the health information and decision-

making of veteran women. As a veteran woman and researcher, it is important to me to 

advocate in the interest of veteran women. My research objective is to examine the history 

of women veterans in the United States and propose a possible conceptual framework for 

describing and understanding how the information needs, access, and use of health 

information reflects and contributes to the marginalization of women in the Veterans 

Health Administration (VHA). 
 

Despite the historically strong opposition of women in the military and in combat roles, 

women have demonstrated valor in combat since the Revolutionary War [2], preceding 

policy and withstanding resistant societal and cultural norms with rigid standards and 

perceptions of women. Today, there are approximately 1.84 million living female veterans 



Research Section Spotlight 

   

Hypothesis, vol. 30, no. 1, Fall/Winter 2018                                                                          56                                  

of more than 23 million surviving veterans in the United States [3], and by the year 2020 

the number of woman veterans is projected to reach 2 million [4]. 

The priorities for women at the VA have ranked relatively low level in the past due to their 

small numbers, and military law and policy that limited their military involvement [5]. 

Thus, the medical needs and long-range effects of combat on the health of women have 

historically been poorly understood in medicine and research [5][6]. 

Women are a numerically small population within a largely male-oriented VHA healthcare 

system [6]. Historically, due to insufficient data collection on female veterans, there 

remains a gap in understanding how veteran women utilize VA healthcare services and 

benefits [7]. Another challenge for researchers has involved the representation of health 

issues related to vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as African-American and other 

minorities, the homeless, rural communities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and 

queer (LGBTQ) veterans who have not been traditionally represented in research. 

Addressing intersectionality in research can potentially improve health outcomes and 

inform stakeholders in the development of health information resources and technology 

to address the specific needs of veteran women. 

Whatley and Worcester propose that when women have access to health information, not 

only do they have a better understanding of their body; they also are more likely to make 

better health-related decisions [8]. A copious amount of research focused on various 

aspects of women in general, and health information behavior, has provided a potential 

foundation for comparing and identifying key behaviors that may be salient to 

understanding the health information behavior and decision-making of veteran women. 

As the VHA implements quality initiative to improve care for female veterans, 

understanding their health information needs will help to tailor health care delivery to 

veteran women and address health disparities. 

Conclusion 

The success of the All of Us Research Program will have a widespread impact on health, 

research, and the value of libraries. The availability of a rich source of data will allow 

comparison between veterans and non-veterans, in particular female veterans, to identify 

gaps in research to improve the immediate and long-range health of the veteran 

population. Gaps in research will be more identifiable, eliminating duplicate research 

efforts. Furthermore, partnerships with initiatives like All of Us will continue to enhance 

the value of librarians and health information professionals, and help connect people from 

diverse backgrounds to health-related resources and information. 

 

 



Research Section Spotlight 

   

Hypothesis, vol. 30, no. 1, Fall/Winter 2018                                                                          57                                  

Works Cited 

1. Richardson-Heron D. MLA 2018 Plenary Session 4. Cited in Allen M, MLA '18 Plenary 4 
Recap: Dr. Dara Richardson-Heron. Retrieved 11/9/2018 from 
https://www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1122&&blogaid=2073. 

2. McGraw K, Koehlmoos TP, Ritchie EC. Women in combat: Framing the issues of health 
and health research for America’s servicewomen. Mil Med, 2016;181, 7–11. DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00223. 

3. Resnick, E.M., Mallampalli, M., Carter, C.L. (2012). Current Challenges in Female 
Veteran’s Health. J Women’s Health, 21(9) 895-900. DOI: https://doi.org/ 
10.1089/jwh.2012.364 

4. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Committee Opinion No. 547: 
Health care for women in the military and women veterans. Obstet Gynecol. 120(6), 1538-
1542. 

5. Tepe V, Yarnell A, Nindl BC, Van Arsdale S, Deuster PA. Women in combat: Summary of 
findings and a way ahead. Mil Med, 2016;181, 109–118. DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00409. 

6. Yano EM, Hayes P, Wright S, Schnurr PP, Lipson L, Bean-Mayberry B, Washington DL. 
(2010). Integration of women veterans into VA quality improvement research efforts: 
What researchers need to know. J Gen Int Med, 2010; 25(1):56–61. DOI: 
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1116-4. 

7. McClerking CA, Wood F. Health policy initiatives for African American women veterans. 
Policy Politics Nurs Practice, 2016;17(3):118-124. 

8. Whatley MH, Worcester N. Women’s health: Readings on social, economic, and political 
Issues. Dubuque, Iowa : Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1988. 

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https://www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1122&&blogaid=2073
https://www.mlanet.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1122&&blogaid=2073
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00223
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00223
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00223
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00409
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00409
https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-15-00409
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1116-4
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1116-4
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-009-1116-4

