The role of Latino/Hispanic communities in health services research: Strategies for a meaningful partnership (original) (raw)
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Addressing the Challenges of Latino Health
Background: Challenges to recruitment of Latinos in health research may include language, cultural and communication barriers, trust issues, heterogeneity of legal status, and a high percent of uninsured when compared to the US population. This paper highlights the community-based participatory research (CBPR) process and expands on the applicability of these principles to Latino communities.
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PubMed, 1993
The development of an appropriate research agenda for Hispanics requires progress in three areas: (a) developing an appropriate research infrastructure, (b) increasing the availability of appropriate research instrumentation, and (c) identifying and assigning priority areas. In addition, a Latino health research agenda must identify mechanisms for increasing the number of trained Hispanic researchers and the number of Latino professional staff members at the Department of Health and Human Services. It is recommended that an Office of Hispanic Health be established within the Office of Minority Health at the Department to oversee the implementation of the recommendations made as part of the Surgeon General's National Hispanic Health Initiative.
Latinos Unidos por la Salud: The Process of Developing an Immigrant Community Research Team
Collaborations: A Journal of Community-Based Research and Practice, 2017
The tremendous Latino growth combined with the challenges of living in a nontraditional migration area make Latinos, particularly those who are undocumented, a "difficult-to-reach" and understudied population in research. We describe the development and practice of an immigrant community research team created to investigate and improve research quality regarding health-related needs, beliefs, and behaviors of recent Latino immigrants living in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our community research team, Latinos Unidos por la Salud (LU-Salud), is composed of Latino immigrant community members and academic researchers working in a health research partnership. The community team members are considered "co-researchers" since LU-Salud was designed within a community-based participatory research framework where we engaged in shared decision making at each phase of the research process from design, data collection, and interpretation of findings to dissemination. The co-researcher approach promoted shared decision-making and community empowerment throughout the research process with our community members providing expertise about the "what" (Latino immigrant health-related beliefs and behaviors, questionnaire content, interpretation of data) and the "why" (to obtain perspectives from Latino immigrants who typically don't engage with academics) and our academic members bringing expertise about the "how" (research design and methods, grant funding).
Health promotion practice, 2016
Reducing health disparities is a national public health priority. Latinos represent the largest racial/ethnic minority group in the United States and suffer disproportionately from poor health outcomes, including cardiovascular disease risk. Academic training programs are an opportunity for reducing health disparities, in part by increasing the diversity of the public health workforce and by incorporating training designed to develop a skill set to address health disparities. This article describes the Training and Career Development Program at the UCLA Center for Population Health and Health Disparities: a multilevel, transdisciplinary training program that uses a community-engaged approach to reduce cardiovascular disease risk in two urban Mexican American communities. Results suggest that this program is effective in enhancing the skill sets of traditionally underrepresented students to become health disparities researchers and practitioners.
Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 2021
US Latinos continue to experience significant health inequity, despite fluctuating healthcare policies over the past 20 years. Recent studies highlight the importance of comprehensive care and collaboration of stakeholders in reducing inequity. Few studies examine the perspectives of community-based organization leaders, health researchers, and policy experts regarding the most effective practices in the delivery of healthcare to Latino children and families. This unique study employed a mixed-methods cross-sectional design to compare perceptions of effective practices and action strategies among two groups. Analysis of qualitative data gathered from 17 organizational leaders and 28 research/policy experts resulted in four broad themes: (1) engagement of families as participants in their healthcare; (2) provision of comprehensive, family-focused healthcare services across the lifespan; (3) engagement of ethnically competent staff to provide outreach; and (4) development of community...
Engaging Latinos in an Academic-Community Partnership in Montana through a Health Screening Event
American Journal of Health Education, 2021
Background: Engaging minorities in research especially in Montana where Latinos make up a small percentage of the population can be a challenge. We describe an effort to recruit Latinos into a research study by hosting a health screening event. Purpose: This event served as the first step in the creation of an academic-community partnership. Methods: We formed an interdisciplinary research team and involved key community stakeholders in planning a health screening event. We provided lunch, flu vaccinations, and screening measures including blood pressure, body mass index, and diabetes status. We also asked for volunteers to sign up to participate in future focus groups. Results: Thirty five people participated in the health screening event, and 29 people volunteered to engage in future research. The majority of participants reported not having health insurance or a regular medical provider, were overweight or obese, and did not have diabetes. Discussion: Engaging the Latino community in research is important, and this paper describes the first step in the creation of an academic-community partnership. Translation to Health Education Practice: Attention to community needs through active partnership and adherence to the responsibilities and competencies for health education specialists provides an example of a successful study that can be adapted to other populations.