This multi-million-dollar study, funded by the American Heart Association, aimed to investigate the long-term physiological impacts of racial discrimination on cardiovascular health, specifically within Native American communities. The study focused on the intersection of racial discrimination, chronic stress, and heart health—an area that had been under-researched despite its known societal relevance.

Ultimately resulting in 300 people participating in this time-intensive, multi-visit design, the early phases of the study suffered from retention difficulties due to mistrust of scientific and academic entities by the target community. As part of a small, dedicated team, I worked directly with Native American leaders to address the significant mistrust of the scientific institution, a barrier that had often hindered recruitment and engagement in past research. To overcome this challenge, we adopted an inclusive design approach, conducting community meetings, focus groups, and discussions with key community leaders to incorporate participant concerns into the study design.

This process allowed us to tailor the research protocol to be culturally sensitive and transparent, fostering trust and ensuring participant comfort throughout the study. Our efforts resulted in higher participation rates and richer data collection.