Community Engagement

AI-Clinical Decision Support

Our community engagement efforts are central to the TIERRA project’s mission to ensure that diverse voices shape the development and use of AI in healthcare. Through interactive formats such as deliberations, town halls, and discussions with community decision-makers, we gather valuable insights to inform ethical and equitable AI practices. Explore the dropdown menu to learn more about each of these engagement activities.

AI in Healthcare Deliberations

We held a series of five virtual deliberative discussions with underrepresented communities in Michigan, including the Middle Eastern/North African, African American and rural communities (n=159) on the use of AI in healthcare. Participants were recruited through collaborative efforts with community health organizations. 

Participants were provided with educational materials, including a booklet and expert presentations about AI, its applications in healthcare, and the ethics and policies related to its use. The deliberative session included two small group breakout sessions of 5-7 participants with a trained facilitator. They also completed pre- and post-session surveys to test knowledge before and after the deliberation. During these sessions, participants...

1. Discussed their expectations, hopes, and concerns about the use of AI in healthcare, and
2. Participated in an AI tool label activity, in which participants developed a label designed to inform patients about an AI tool that will be used in their healthcare. 

AI in Healthcare Town Hall

Participants were invited back to a virtual town hall to provide feedback about the health AI label and whether their perceptions about health AI had changed. During the town hall participants shared conversations about issues of trust and ethics regarding AI with their friends, family, and their doctor, and called for and wanted to see policy development around AI use in healthcare.

We brought in three AI and health experts to share their thoughts on the participant discussions. 

Special Advisor at the National Academy of Medicine

We need to hear patient voices at every stage of the AI life cycle so that when they get ready to design AI tools, it will benefit everyone and everyone equally...

...I would love to see every healthcare system in the country, every community health center, every place that's contemplating the use of AI, enlist patients as partners in deciding how AI systems work.

Vice President, Strategic Insights at American Medical Association

The fact that you were able to get 23% of your participants be from the MENA community, that's special, that doesn't happen often or at all. The voices from those different communities, in addition to the geographic diversity... I trust Michigan, I trust the people, and I think there's a lot of wisdom that we heard tonight...

Chief Health AI Officer University of California San Diego

There is likely going to be less federal regulation in the space of AI, which means that we have to take responsibility locally as a community, as health systems, as partners with patients.

DECIDERS

DECIDERS is a project that we partner with that develops, uses, and evaluates ways to engage communities, particularly minority and under-served communities, in informed deliberations about priorities for limited health resources.