Paper
Friday, July 23, 2004
10:00 AM - 10:30 AM
Friday, July 23, 2004
3:00 PM - 3:30 PM
Community Participation and Marginalization in a Mixed Method Study
Doris Boutain, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, School of Nursing, Seattle University, Seattle, WA, USA
| Learning Objective #1: n/a |
| Learning Objective #2: n/a |
Objective: To explore how community members who perceived themselves as marginalized by research inquiry broadened definitions of community participation within a mixed method study. Study Design: Community input was sought during a mixed method study entitled, A Better Chance Project (ABC). ABC is a five-year, population-based prospective cohort study focused on understanding how stress impacts the premature onset of labor. About 400 multicultural women with a prior preterm birth and 400 multicultural women with a prior term birth are identified via birth certificate data and projected to enroll in the study by 2005. Methods: Three community-based board meetings were held six months apart in study year one. Fifteen to twenty key community members attended each meeting. Fifteen telephone conferences and ten informal meetings were scheduled with other local citizens. An information table was also established at three local churches to discuss the research. In year two of implementation, twenty-five community members were polled about their prior and future study involvement. Findings: Fifteen community members wanted to define levels of participation, reimbursement and input. Six other community members specifically thought the questionnaires related to perceived stress, social support and discrimination had questionable relevance. A participation and input recognition rubric was jointly created to address the concerns that research methods further marginalized the viewpoint of community members. Conclusions: There is a need to share tools for how to involve already marginalized community members in research so that further vulnerability is not produced during the inquiry process. Implications: Recognizing the need to have multiple levels of community participation, ranging from nonparticipation to total control, is effective at generating open and critical dialogue about the research process. A flexible rubric defining community participation is needed, yet not readily available to guide future researchers.
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Sigma Theta Tau International
July 22-24, 2004