All of Us Research Program Overview

Too often, health care is one size fits all. Treatments meant for the “average” patient may not work well for individual people. Health care providers may find it difficult to coordinate care among specialists or to access all of a patient’s health information. Researchers may spend lots of time and resources creating new databases for every study.

All of Us is working to improve health care through research. Unlike research studies that focus on one disease or group of people, All of Us is building a diverse database that can inform thousands of studies on a variety of health conditions. This creates more opportunities to:

• Know the risk factors for certain diseases
• Figure out which treatments work best for people of different backgrounds
• Connect people with the right clinical studies for their needs
• Learn how technologies can help us take steps to be healthier

Learn about what makes the All of Us Research Program different.

The National Institutes of Health formed the Precision Medicine Initiative Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the Director in March 2015. The group concluded its work in September 2015 with a detailed report. The report provided a framework for setting up the All of Us Research Program.

Precision medicine:

• Is based on you as an individual
• Takes into account your environment (where you live), lifestyle (what you do), and your family health history and genetic makeup
• Gives health care providers the information they need to make customized recommendations for people of different backgrounds, ages, and regions
• Helps you get better information about how to be healthier
• Reduces health care costs by matching the right person with the right treatment the first time

All of Us is part of a new era in which researchers, health care providers, technology experts, community partners, and the public work together to develop individualized health care. Learn more about who is involved.

Questions? Contact us.