Sister Yaa Simpson describes herself as “your favorite community epidemiologist,” and her approach to public health research reflects a deep understanding that effective healthcare interventions must be rooted in cultural authenticity and genuine community connection. Working with the Association of Clinical Trial Services (TACTS), Simpson has spent years translating complex research into real-world health solutions for Black communities.
Her methodology combines rigorous scientific standards with what she calls an authentic spiritual approach, emphasizing that lasting health improvements require addressing not just medical care, but the social determinants that shape how people live their lives. Speaking from Chicago, Simpson discusses her unique perspective on building trust, advancing health equity and the importance of staying connected to the communities she serves.
Simpson’s work with TACTS, an organization focused on health equity and social justice for nearly two decades, centers on improving health outcomes and life expectancy for Black Americans through community-based interventions that acknowledge the full spectrum of factors affecting health.
How do you approach public health research in a way that respects and incorporates the cultural and lived experiences of the Black communities you serve?
The first and the only and the best way to approach it is being authentic. I am African first. I am a spiritual being having a human experience. I approach it through the understanding that we are all a part of the Most High. That which created the sun created me. That which created the sun created you.
I approach that in all my life and living. I just happen to be an epidemiologist. So, for me, evidence-based and facts and data [are] important, but the numbers matter not if you don’t use them. That’s how I approach public health.
As a community epidemiologist, how do you build trust while translating research into real-world health interventions?
The way you build trust is, guess what? Talking to people. Relating, understanding, and more importantly, staying with it. I don’t have to always agree with you, but I don’t have to be disagreeable. I don’t have to have your perspective because like the elephant in the room, it’s always got a tail and somebody is the head and it may not be you.
But what does that really mean? That as a cosmologist, I know that spiritual beings have to deal and have the human experience. My connection comes because I wanna do right or be right. So, reliability and validity [are] important.
That’s how you build trust. You gotta be a wise person and let it be that. And more importantly, just tell the truth. I can’t solve all your problems. I don’t know why some things go wrong and some things go right, but I do know I’m here with you.
How has your involvement with TACTS, The Association of Clinical Trial Services, shaped your work in community epidemiology and advancing health equity?
TACTS has been around for, I think now, I wanna say about eighteen or so years. We are an organization that is about health equity and social justice. I combine the two. And yes, I happen to be an epidemiologist, so I look at research, data[,] concepts of science.
We follow a method each and every time, but you know what I’m really looking for? I’m looking for Black people to have a better health outcome. I’m looking for us to have a [higher] life expectancy.
I can’t get to that if we can’t deal with social determinants. Today, we heard from the doctors that spoke and Dr. Maya and Dr. Tini both talked about, and Sister Star, relating to people, but over time. But our life expectancy is really not based on just seeing a doctor.
It’s really based on how we live our lives. So if we don’t have better lifestyles, I said lifestyles. It’s not just you living a life, you are guaranteed to die. It’s how you live is the issue. That’s what I work for, how you live.
How can people connect with you?
You can probably do the best by emailing me — [email protected]. I am gonna be honest with y’all, I don’t do a whole lot of social media. So if you really wanna get at me, [reach] me through my email, [Google] me and find my phone number, call me up, honey, I take [every] call. Text me, because I really respond back.
And if anybody [knows] me, I’ll tell you. More importantly, email me, because that is how we talk. And the real reason I tell you this, because if I told you social media, I don’t read it. But not all the time. But I do want you to know that you can get at me, because if you wanna be serious, if you wanna go somewhere fast, go by yourself. If you wanna go somewhere far, come with me.
