The Case for Community

The Case for Community

As a working wife and mother, I’ve always felt proud of myself for mostly being able to balance my home and work lives. I’m accustomed to being busy. Busy on one day might be travel for work and on the next it might mean traveling to support my husband and oldest sons at a baseball game, or my middle son at a soccer game. So, when it was suggested that I take a break from work during my most recent, and second, pregnancy that was a difficult task. I didn’t always rest as much as I should have but I did work fewer hours and decreased my movement.

After the birth of my son, his care forced me to take it even slower. Maternity leave meant more time at home. Less time at work.?More time with myself. Less time in community.

Community.

That’s the word that resonated with me over and over again during my time away from the office.

While I missed my personal community - the comradery at work, the travel to a different city with my co-founder, the organizations in which I held membership, my friendships – I knew that for the most part, they were only just a phone call, email, or social media message away.

Community is particularly essential to new mothers, but also underserved populations like communities of color.

At Acclinate, we work to achieve diversity in clinical research trials. While much of our work is centered on the intersection of culture and technology, we knew that community was a large piece of the puzzle. Without it, there would be a gaping hole in our efforts.

When we introduced the concept of NOWINCUDED, a community that educates and engages diverse populations on health-related issues, medical industry insiders were underwhelmed by the idea that fostering community was needed to gain the trust and participation of communities of color.

Unfortunately, they did not understand that these communities are not readily open to outside agendas or traditional methods of engagement. In fact, nearly every decision is based on a trifecta of factors: trust, relationships, and influence.

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Trust

It’s no secret that black communities have a lack of trust in most medical systems, facilities, and professionals. That lack of trust is among the reasons why the community often fails to seek medical care, fails to engage in ongoing treatments, and fails to participate in research-based activities like clinical trials. To build trust in the community, you must be consistently engaged and attuned to their concerns and fears. Trust is only built over time.

Relationships

A foundational tenet of our community building is building relationships. For most of us, we create relationships, personally and professionally, around shared interests and similar lifestyles. Those shared interests are typically revealed through storytelling that helps us form and solidify relationships. Because we have spent time building trust, relationships have the opportunity to flourish.

Influence

A final key is the sphere of influence that exists within community. Black communities don’t typically take their cues from traditional media like ads and commercials. Instead, they take suggestions and prompting from their loved ones, friends, family, and even clergy and church members. An influential impact is not easily won within communities of color. It is a privilege only extended to those who can show they truly care, whom they trust, and with whom they have developed relationships.

That is why we, despite initial opposition from industry, have been relentless in our pursuit of community. NOWINCLUDED has grown to become a trusted place for resources and professional guidance. Our grassroots efforts to meet people where they are and in the way that they need have proven to be a significant catalyst in bridging the gap between the medical industry and communities of color. ?