McGraw S A, McKinlay J B, Crawford S A, Costa L A, Cohen D L
New England Research Institute, Inc, Watertown, Massachusetts 02172.
Ethn Dis. 1992 Summer;2(3):273-87.
Until recently, minority populations have been inadequately or inaccurately represented in health research. Researchers are now recognizing the need to improve the validity and reliability of data on the health status and health-related behaviors of minorities. This paper discusses important methodological issues in conducting health survey research in minority communities: construction of an appropriate sampling frame, response rates, attrition from panel studies, and response patterns. These themes are illustrated with data from three field studies at the New England Research Institute. Two of these studies focus on inner-city Puerto Rican youth, a group rapidly increasing in size. The extent and multiplicity of problems experienced by this group affect the complexity of survey protocols. The third study is a random-digit-dial telephone survey on health care utilization for coronary heart disease by black and white adults from three inner-city neighborhoods in Boston. The conclusions drawn from the Institute's experience are corroborated by other scientific studies. First, the sociocultural characteristics of the community or group selected for study must be considered in planning and implementing any survey research on minority populations. Second, ensuring the quality of field work with minority groups may be expensive because of high residential mobility and lack of preexisting sampling frames. Third, there is no reason to expect any diminution of data quality with minority groups, provided the resources for data collection are adequate. The quality of data is undoubtedly proportional to the field efforts expended, but the costs of high-quality survey work are often not appreciated. The paper questions the utility of the term "minority research," for it disregards the considerable variation between and within minority groups and subcultures.
直到最近，少数族裔群体在健康研究中的代表性仍不足或不准确。研究人员现在认识到有必要提高有关少数族裔健康状况和与健康相关行为数据的有效性和可靠性。本文讨论了在少数族裔社区进行健康调查研究中的重要方法问题：构建合适的抽样框架、回应率、面板研究中的损耗以及回应模式。这些主题通过新英格兰研究所三项实地研究的数据进行说明。其中两项研究聚焦于市中心的波多黎各青年，这一群体的规模正在迅速增长。该群体所经历问题的范围和多样性影响了调查方案的复杂性。第三项研究是一项随机数字拨号电话调查，对象是来自波士顿三个市中心社区的黑人和白人成年人对冠心病的医疗保健利用情况。研究所的经验得出的结论得到了其他科学研究的证实。首先，在规划和实施任何针对少数族裔群体的调查研究时，必须考虑所选社区或群体的社会文化特征。其次，由于居住流动性高和缺乏现有的抽样框架，确保与少数族裔群体的实地工作质量可能成本高昂。第三，只要数据收集资源充足，就没有理由预期少数族裔群体的数据质量会下降。数据质量无疑与所投入的实地工作成正比，但高质量调查工作的成本往往未得到重视。本文质疑“少数族裔研究”这一术语的效用，因为它忽视了少数族裔群体和亚文化之间以及内部的巨大差异。
