"You've Gotta Know the Community": Minority Women Make Recommendations About Community-Focused Health Research

Objectives: To determine what ethnic and racial minority women recommend as the best approaches to participatory health research in their communities. To achieve this goal, this study focused on HIV prevention research. Methods: In 2003, Seven African American and seven Latina women (ages 33 to 52),...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Women & health 2008-01, Vol.47 (1), p.83-104
Main Authors: Pinto, Rogério M., McKay, Mary M., Escobar, Celeste
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
Action Research
Adult
African Americans
Community
Community Health Planning - methods
Community-Based Participatory Research
Cooperation
Epidemiology
Female
Females
Focus Groups
Health Promotion - methods
Health Research
Health Services Needs and Demand
Health Services Research - methods
Health Services Research - organization & administration
Hispanic Americans
HIV Infections - ethnology
HIV Infections - prevention & control
HIV prevention
Humans
Medical research
Middle Aged
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority Groups
Minority women
Prevention
Social Support
Surveys and Questionnaires
Trust
United States
Women
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Summary:Objectives: To determine what ethnic and racial minority women recommend as the best approaches to participatory health research in their communities. To achieve this goal, this study focused on HIV prevention research. Methods: In 2003, Seven African American and seven Latina women (ages 33 to 52), all members of an HIV Prevention Collaborative Board, participated in individual interviews, lasting about 90 minutes each. Participants discussed their involvement in participatory research, and made recommendations as to how health researchers might better engage their communities. Data were coded independently by two coders following standard procedure for content analysis. Results: Women's voices and expertise can help guide health-related research. This study shows that: (1) participatory HIV prevention research should be founded on trust and commitment, leading to social support; (2) research partners ought to come from diverse backgrounds and be knowledgeable about the community and willing to work on common objectives; and (3) collaborative partnerships ought to portray an image of strength and cohesion, and a clear articulation of the mission around a research project. Implications: To develop meaningful health research, researchers need to establish long-term ongoing relationships with community collaborators, including minority women from diverse backgrounds. Researchers ought to take a holistic approach working with communities, and ought to consider their research interests vis-à-vis the community's needs.
ISSN:0363-0242
1541-0331
DOI:10.1300/J013v47n01_05