306 Discovery Day: A model for increasing trust and transparency in research

Abstract

Objectives/Goals: Discovery Day aims to bring diverse and underrepresented groups of potential biomedical research participants into research spaces to increase transparency, knowledge of the research process, trust in research, and interest in STEM fields. Methods/Study Population: Discovery Days are one-day events held on Saturdays at a large hospital in the Midwest. Attendees are recruited through flyers, social media, and other media. Recruitment targets communities that are predominantly underrepresented in research, such as Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino. Events included lunch, presentations, interactive lab demonstrations, Q&A sessions, and a tour of the BioBank research facility. Families completed surveys assessing demographics, trust in research, understanding of research, and interest in STEM careers. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize findings. Results/Anticipated Results: At a Discovery Day held in May 2024, 58 individuals attended. Each family (N  =  30) completed a 15-item survey. Most (70%) participants identified with diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, with the largest group identifying as Black/African American. Five diverse neighborhoods were represented, as expected for our recruitment strategy. Following Discovery Day, 73.3% of participants reported their trust in research increased, and 93.1% of participants indicated their understanding of research increased. 37.5% reported interest in learning about STEM jobs or internships, and 100% of participants would recommend Discovery Day to friends and family. Discussion/Significance of Impact: We hope that by increasing transparency and trust around the research process, community members that may benefit from research (e.g., genetic research on chronic diseases) may be more likely to participate. Additional findings and future goals for Discovery Day will be discussed.