Healing Dialogues: Honest Conversations with Native and Indigenous Healthcare Leaders
Healing Dialogues features real conversations between Sanofi and Native and Indigenous healthcare leaders from across North America. In this series, we discuss the ways we can better engage these historically marginalized communities and make our clinical trials more inclusive.
For decades, Indigenous and First Nations communities have been overlooked by the healthcare industry, creating unique barriers to accessing care and inequities for these populations. Because of this, a sense of mistrust towards health systems has permeated these communities.
As part of Sanofi’s A Million Conversations global initiative to rebuild trust in healthcare with underrepresented communities, we’re listening to Native American and Indigenous populations in our video series, Healing Dialogues.
Hosted by Monique Adams, PhD, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials and Siobhan Gallagher, US Lead for Diversity and Inclusion in Clinical Trials. Healing Dialogues features clinical investigators who are not only members of these communities, but who also have experience caring for these patient populations. Through honest conversations with these leaders, we can uncover how the healthcare industry can best engage with members of these communities to better understand their needs, address their concerns around participating in clinical trials, and encourage their enrollment.
In doing so, Sanofi continues to lead the conversation on diversifying clinical trials so we can build an inclusive and healthier world for all.
Watch these candid discussions and discover the power of dialogue.
We Need to Change the Way We Talk About Clinical Trials
If we want the Native Hawaiian community to participate in clinical trials, we need to reframe how we discuss them. According to Dr. Maile Tauali’i, Assistant Clinical Investigator at Hawaii Permanente Medical Group, this starts by partnering directly with community providers who are seen as trusted, credible leaders and who can amplify the importance of trial participation. Developing these relationships could be invaluable to improving the health of Native and Indigenous communities. Learn about building this relationship in this dialogue.
Wise Practices Translate to Best Practices
It’s important that we view care through a comprehensive lens, especially when it comes to Native and Indigenous communities, according to Dr. Allison Kelliher, Research Associate at Johns Hopkins School of Nursing and the first and only physician with training in traditional healing. Her holistic approach gives patients direct involvement throughout the entire research process, from clinical trial design to disseminating study findings. Watch the video to learn more about this holistic approach.
Affecting Systemic Change to Meet Different Needs
Identifying ways to adapt to the varied needs of different communities is integral to relational community engagement. Dr. Nicole Redvers, Associate Professor at the Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry at Western University in Canada, applies this framework to her inclusive clinical trials. The healthcare industry can do the same, shifting healthcare systems to meet the diverse cultural needs of different Native and Indigenous communities.