Learning Objective #1: Identify relational issues that can affect trust in the relationship between informant and researcher during ethnographic research

Learning Objective #2: Discuss strategies to reduce barriers in cross-cultural and cross-lingual communication during ethnographic research

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Problem: Cross-cultural ethnography entails certain issues such as power differentials between researcher and informant, secrecy of information by informant, and semantic equivalence between what is voiced by informant and what is understood by researcher. Purpose: The purpose of this presentation is to examine issues of cross-cultural cross-lingual research through the discussion of a case study about a Hispanic woman with diabetes. Methodology: I recruited a 52-yr-old Hispanic woman, Seņora Gutierrez (pseudonym), as a case study informant. Ethnographic issues arose because I was not fluent in Spanish and I did not share her culture. I labeled her as vulnerable due to uncontrolled blood sugars, heart problems, diabetic complications, fixed income, language barrier, and indigenous remedies in lieu of insulin. An interpreter facilitated but did not remove barriers to communication. During 10 weeks of visits, Sra Gutierrez and I developed a relationship despite language and cultural barriers. I accompanied her to appointments with physicians. She recorded her daily meals, medications, and blood sugars. Findings: Sra Gutierrez and I enjoyed reciprocity by sharing each other's talents. She taught me how to negotiate cross-culturally with a dominant society's health care system, while I became a resource by which she was able to access certain benefits. Through her decisions, Sra Gutierrez achieved control of her blood sugar and obtained specialized care for her heart disease. Conclusions: The experience of working with Sra Gutierrez forms the basis of recommendations for overcoming cultural and language barriers inherent with ethnography. Respect for each other's dignity enhanced the trust within our relationship. By assuming that I did not know what Sra Gutierrez meant when she used certain cultural statements, I learned more in depth meanings. Sra Gutierrez became for me a more authoritative expert in caring for her health as the power differential shifted in our relationship.