Skip to Main Content

All of Us Research Program: All of Us Policy on Ethical Conduct of Research

Part of the National Institutes of Health, All of Us is changing how health research is done.

Background

The All of Us Research Program is committed to the meaningful inclusion of participants of all backgrounds, health statuses, and walks of life from across the United States. However, there are sensitivities to conducting research that involves people, their data, or their specimens of which researchers must be aware. Furthermore, there are additional ethical considerations researchers must undertake when their studies involve participants, or information and samples that were donated by participants, who belong to certain groups that are most vulnerable to stigma and discrimination. Many of these groups have also been historically underrepresented in research, which means that past research results may be inaccurate or not apply to them the same way as groups that were represented. To ensure that the results of research studies capture the differences between groups of people in different circumstances, it is important that research studies utilize information from all kinds of people. Thus, it is crucial that All of Us, and users of resources produced and/or maintained by All of Us adhere to a set of ethical standards that support conscientious, culturally aware and competent research to minimize harm and engender trust.