In this episode of Consider This Next, Kacie speaks with Britt DeVries, Lead Data Scientist at the Idea Exchange in Miami, Florida about reimagining how science communicators can build meaningful relationships with communities they serve. Through their syringe services program, Britt and her team demonstrate how combining data science with on-the-ground community engagement can create lasting impact. From their success in early outbreak detection to the evolution of their services based on community feedback, the conversation explores how implementation science and trust-building can transform public health outcomes. Britt shares practical insights about meeting people where they are, the power of word-of-mouth in reaching marginalized communities, and using data visualization to tell compelling stories that matter to both academic and community audiences.
Transcript
Kacie 00:21
Welcome to consider this next on CivicSci-Radio, I’m your host, Kacie Luaders, and in this show, I analyze the ongoing coverage across the CivicSciTV network and directly engage diverse stakeholders to learn from their ongoing work across the Civic science landscape. The objective of consider this next and that of all other coverage on the CivicSciTV network, on video, radio and in print, is this to provide actionable insights for researchers, practitioners and local community leaders. Today, we’re exploring how data and Community Trust work hand in hand to save lives. Our guest, Britt de Vries is the lead data scientist for Miami’s idea exchange, where she’s redefining what civic science communication looks like in practice, rather than just translating research for the public, she’s showing how scientific work can be truly collaborative by meeting people where they are and learning from their experiences through syringe services and harm reduction programs. Britt and her team are turning traditional research models upside down. Instead of studying communities from a distance, they’re building relationships on the ground, letting data inform their approach, while ensuring the community’s voice guides their work. Let’s hear how they’re breaking down barriers and stigma through science that serves all right, so we have another fantastic guest today on Consider This next, Brit. If I could just have you introduce yourself and tell the folks what it is that you do.
Devries 02:13
Hey, y’all so my name is Britt DeVries. I am the lead data scientist for the idea exchange based out of Miami, Florida. It’s a public, private partnership that operates a syringe services program out of Miami, Dade County.
Kacie 02:29
So very interesting. This podcast is all about civic science communication, and how both folks working in the science field can better communicate with people who don’t work in the science field, and how people who don’t work in the science field can feel more comfortable learning about scientific topics and things of that nature. And so for what it is that you do, I’m very curious to know, how do you ensure that your communication strategies actually resonate with the populations that you’re trying to reach?
Devries 03:05
Yeah, absolutely, this is a core focus for us too, because we are dealing primarily with marginalized and also stigmatized, highly stigmatized communities. Our primary enrollment is individuals or people who inject drugs, and so there’s a lot of stigma and negative energy around those sort of illicit behaviors, and it’s really important for us to be able to meet our community where they are, and that is all about communicating in a super respectful way that continues to ensure autonomy and just respect for who they are and as a person and a person, regardless of whether or not they’re living with HIV or HCV or whether they’re drug use patterns or method of drug use changes while part of our program as a harm reduction program, that really is our goal, is to engage with people and then equip them with the tools to both ensure safety and as well as the ability to provide some of those life saving services. So like nalox, things that help to ensure that the syringes are clean, so alcohol wipes, things like that. But then we also are on the ground every day, communicating with our community, and so one of the best ways that we’re able to get the word out is through just our touch in in that space, really, on the ground, over 70% of individuals who enroll at the Miami exchange program hear about us through word of mouth, so that’s through the community, through just people having the trust and feeling comfortable coming to us for what they need. So
Kacie 04:54
that’s really interesting. I would love to talk more about that sort of on the ground in the. Community approach, I would assume that reaching the communities that you’re trying to help the most, it definitely requires a lot of like face to face time, making sure that they feel like they can trust you all as a source of help and a source of information. And so again, just sort of digging more into your communication tactics or styles. What are some of the the success stories that you’ve seen in this like being on the ground approach?
Devries 05:30
Yeah, absolutely. So one of the biggest success stories that I love to highlight is actually, now seems a little dated, but was a really big deal. So So in 2018 our group was actually able to, early on, identify an outbreak. So being able to test regularly, and having the ability to send out our mobile units. So we have, literally a van that goes, meets people wherever they are, so on the street most of the time. So we have a full dedicated street team, and we also have a fixed site. So our one to one communication with our community is like primarily that way that we were able to both identify early on this outbreak, but also then communicate that to other health departments and roll out extensive services, push even more mobile units out, working longer hours, staying open longer, providing additional syringes, providing additional treatment and telehealth harm reduction services like that too. So I think that is both in my field, as a data scientist, the continuous kind of monitoring of our data, looking out for these changes, and then being able to communicate it out. Another great example is the sort of increase that we see nationwide in fentanyl and xylazine. So our participants are communicating to us what it is that is in their drug supply, and this really helps us to keep an eye on potential new compounds that are entering the drug supply, and also communicate out to our other participants, like, hey, heads up. Please be testing your drugs. We are starting to see an increase in this type of substance.
Kacie 07:20
So that’s really interesting, hearing that you all are really using communication as a two way street. Not only are you speaking to the communities, but you’re listening to what the communities are telling you and then using that information to then implement new policies or strategies. I think that’s a really fascinating approach sometimes. And I guess even I’m guilty of this, when we think of marginalized communities, particularly those experiencing homelessness, it’s almost like everything is going to them, the services are going to them, and that’s just the flow of how things are happening. People are helping them, but the fact that you all are both helping those communities and strengthening your your operations by listening, I think that’s just a really important thing for all science communicators to take note of. It’s not just you implementing it’s you listening and getting feedback from those communities. So that’s a really insightful point I would love to now dive into. Since you are a data specialist, I would love to know how it is that you measure the success of your communication efforts. This could be either something very specific, or if you’re just like, Man, I out did outreach to one person, and they said, like, I know this information now I’m going to do something with it. Like, how do you measure success of your communication efforts?
Devries 08:52
So the primary goal in our sort of reach efforts is the number of people that we enroll every month. So these are new enrollments, people who have not engaged in a syringe services program in the past. And we know that for our community, especially in Florida, not just in Miami, the average age of first and drug injection use is about 26 and then the average age of enrollment in an SSP is about 40. So there’s about a 14 year age gap there where individuals don’t have access to these services or don’t know about it. And so one of the things that we’re really trying to do is decrease that time between first injection and enrollment in an SSP, but then also continue to enroll. So one of the things that I look at every month is both the number of visits that we have at our mobile unit is able to reach, and then also our on site unit. So number of encounters is what we would call that, or number of visits that. That usually, on average, stays around 505 50, with sometimes an upper range of almost 900 per month. And those are just visits that obviously encounters multiple visits from an individual person. But our enrollments, we’re starting to see really increase. So we had 30 new enrollments, so 30 new individuals taking advantage of the services we that we provide, and really being able to reach that community. The other really important thing is that we’re starting to see, and this is one of the biggest KPIs, I guess we would say in the business, key performance indicators is that we’re also starting to see a huge ramp up in the individuals that are coming to us for other services other than exchanging needles. So we have other wraparound services like access to medications, Naloxone, free Naloxone access HIV and HCV and STI testing, also all free wound care, referrals to housing and employment services, referrals to primary care and to our on site clinic. And so we really are seeing from the time that we first started collecting this data in 2018 about why people are visiting, because it used to just be the assumption. It was always to exchange right? Because that’s what we are. So the first data point we have on this the we had three individuals come for something other than to exchange needles, far less than 1% of all of those visits that I mentioned. So three visits were for something else. Today, we’re seeing 34% of people all of those visits that again, 34% of the 550 or so are coming for something other than a needle exchange, so for these other services. And so that really starts to show us that there we are a trusted community partner, that we are really here and listening to them, providing them with what they need, and able to provide more than what the typical healthcare setting is really not able to provide, or is there’s just barriers there. So like you mentioned, homelessness is a very challenging issue when it comes to transportation, to things like medical visit appointments or keeping a scheduled visit, whereas for this, we’re open walk ins entirely. And so some of these things are really catered for our community, and things that we’ve done are advised or brought up through our community advisory boards that are full just peers that come and bring their thoughts and what they’re hearing out in the actual world to us, so that we can try to come up with strategies and really take that information and run with it on
Kacie 12:55
that point, I would love if you could talk to us a little bit more about the community advisory boards and what it is that They actually do, and it sounds like they’re a really helpful intermediary between the population you’re trying to reach and the services you’re trying to provide. So in the spirit of science communication, how does that sort of communication flow actually work? Yeah,
Devries 13:16
so in multiple ways. So because many of these individuals are enrolled in our program, or all of them are actually we see them regularly, so we have those touch points with them on the ground, like at our sites. We also host round tables or town halls or whatever you’d like to say, where we welcome the broader community to come in and speak with those on the board, and then also to have access to our staff and services during these events. We have SSP programs that host bingo nights or have some sort of like trans social events in the evenings or at local bars and other places like community centers, et cetera, and so those are regularly scheduled, and we have team members that go to those as well as members of our cab. I
Kacie 14:09
think that’s such an important point. Not just going into the community and saying, Hey, look at this list of facts and statistics, but actually achieving your goals by building trust in the community as scientists and data folks, I think that’s such a key point in what you all are doing. And so to wrap us up, I’m curious for you, we’ve talked a lot about some of the different tactics that you all use and some of the key learnings that you’re gaining from communities as well as teaching to communities. So what role do you think that civic science communication is going to play in addressing the both the immediate and the long term needs of these populations? Actions. How can we continue to better facilitate communication to community stakeholders, maybe folks who you use the word stigmatized, folks who still are like, I have an idea of what these communities are, and I don’t think this affects me or affects my community. How can we continue to ensure that we’re doing the best to serve these folks.
Devries 15:22
Yeah, that’s a great point. I think I can focus in specifically on, like, my role here, especially since I come from an academic background, I’m definitely aware of the sort of high horse idea of, like, we study you and we tell you about you, and I that’s not what this is, and that’s part of the reason why I love this role so much. I think there’s a absolutely a place and a requirement for funding for all types of research, but I think this type of implementation science is really important, and especially since we are able to bring our data and bring our information. So for me, especially like I’m presenting at academic conferences or at other places where I’m going to be interacting with, primarily other scientists, sometimes peers, sometimes outside of academia, sometimes in industry, and really able to show and highlight like that. This protocol that we have established in opt out testing is effective, and the big way that I’m able to do that as a data person and as a data nerd is to pull those numbers and not like, just spit them back, but be able to show that progression and show that improvement. Like, we’re not perfect. We are still figuring this out. Everyone’s in the same boat. This is a developing area, and we’re constantly implementing feedback and new strategies. So it’s really important to measure that and to be able to show it visually to a wide audience. So that’s where I come in a lot of the times on my team to help develop those visualizations or graphs, or whatever it is tables that really helped tell the story of what our programs are doing and who are reaching and how effective These programs are. So that is often like through a graph or a map, often mapping and being able to visually show what this impact means. And I think that’s one of the easiest ways, besides verbally, one on one, to communicate with people. We know that scientific journals, as amazing as they aren’t reaching the wider community, and to be honest, they’re not really written for the broader community. So, and I think that’s fine, but there needs to be some different form of approach for communication with the people that you’re actually serving and the people that you’re trying to reach.
Kacie 18:00
Wonderful. Well, I think that what you all are doing is so important. I love what was the term you use? Implementation Research,
Devries 18:10
implementation science, implements where it’s like jargon?
Kacie 18:15
No, that’s great. I love that. This was definitely a very insightful conversation. So thank you so much for coming on the show. Yeah, absolutely.
Devries 18:24
Thank you so much. Kacie. I appreciate it.
Kacie 18:27
Today’s conversation with Britt highlights a crucial evolution in how we think about civic science communication, the idea exchange, finds success not only through data collection, but through the trust they build while gathering the information in the first place for science communicators listening, here are some key questions to consider. One, how might your own work change if you treated your audience as collaborators, rather than just recipients of information? Two, what it look like to measure success beyond outputs like papers and presentations focusing instead on meaningful community engagement and three, how can we build translation into our work from the start, rather than treating it as an afterthought? Britt’s team shows us that effective science communication goes beyond simplifying complex ideas. They create spaces where communities feel heard, respected and empowered to contribute to their own experience, whether you’re working in public health, environmental science or any other field. Here are some more principles to consider. First, go to where your audience is, both physically and in terms of their understanding. Second, create multiple ways for people to engage with your work, from formal settings to casual conversations. And third, let the community’s input shape. Your approach from the ground up, not just your messaging. Finally remember that data tells stories that need to resonate with the people you’re trying to reach. Before we sign off, I’d like to offer a big thank you to you our listeners for tuning in and engaging with these crucial topics. If you found value in this episode, please don’t forget to subscribe, rate and review our podcast. Your support helps us continue to bring you insightful conversations like this one, until next time, keep nurturing your curiosity and stay connected to the science all around you.
This is Kacie Luaders, signing off from consider this next on CivicSciTVRadio.
Thank you.
Related
You must be logged in to post a comment Login