Lor Maichou, Bowers Barbara J
Maichou Lor, PhD, RN, is Postdoctoral Research Fellow, School of Nursing, Columbia University, New York, New York. Barbara J. Bowers, PhD, RN, FAAN, is Associate Dean for Research and Professor, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Nurs Res. 2018 May/Jun;67(3):222-230. doi: 10.1097/NNR.0000000000000277.
Recruiting racial/ethnic minorities into health research is challenging. Although researchers affiliated with members of the study population (seen as insiders) may increase research participation of racial/ethnic minorities, little is known about who participants see as insiders and how they respond to insider versus outsider researchers.
The aim of the study was to examine perceptions of Hmong older adults toward insider versus outsider researchers and the influence of these perceptions on their willingness to participate in research.
Participants in a study evaluating use of a culturally and linguistically adapted audio computer-assisted self-interviewing system with helper assistance (ACASI-H) provided information about what they thought would encourage others in their community to participate in research. ACASI-H was used for collection of health data with 30 Hmong older adults. Participants rated the likelihood of participation if the researcher was Hmong and answered open-ended questions about participation when the researcher was not Hmong. Conventional content analysis was used to analyze open-ended questions.
Sixteen (53%) participants reported that they would be "likely" to participate in the research if the researcher was Hmong. Fourteen (47%) participants reported that they would participate in research if the researcher was not Hmong. In addition to ethnic affiliation, trust in the researcher could shift the perception of the researcher toward insider status, thereby increasing willingness of Hmong adults to participate in research. Trust in the researcher and movement toward insider status could be increased by calling out a connection between the researcher and the participant or creating reciprocity.
Findings suggest that increasing research participation of Hmong (and possibly other) participants, particularly when researchers do not share ethnic membership, can be achieved by building trust. This study also suggests a more nuanced perception of insider status, as a continuum, rather than a dichotomy, may be a more accurate reflection of the relationship between participants and researchers.
招募少数种族/族裔群体参与健康研究具有挑战性。尽管与研究人群成员相关联的研究人员（被视为内部人）可能会提高少数种族/族裔群体的研究参与度，但对于参与者将谁视为内部人以及他们如何回应内部人与外部研究人员，我们知之甚少。
本研究旨在探讨苗族老年人对内部与外部研究人员的看法，以及这些看法对他们参与研究意愿的影响。
一项评估使用经过文化和语言调整的带助手协助的音频计算机辅助自我访谈系统（ACASI-H）的研究中的参与者，提供了关于他们认为会鼓励社区中的其他人参与研究的信息。ACASI-H被用于收集30名苗族老年人的健康数据。参与者对研究人员为苗族时参与研究的可能性进行评分，并回答当研究人员不是苗族时关于参与的开放式问题。采用传统内容分析法分析开放式问题。
16名（53%）参与者表示，如果研究人员是苗族，他们“可能”会参与研究。14名（47%）参与者表示，如果研究人员不是苗族，他们也会参与研究。除了种族归属外，对研究人员的信任可以将对研究人员的看法转向内部人身份，从而增加苗族成年人参与研究的意愿。通过指出研究人员与参与者之间的联系或建立互惠关系，可以增强对研究人员的信任并使其向内部人身份转变。
研究结果表明，通过建立信任可以提高苗族（可能还有其他群体）参与者的研究参与度，特别是当研究人员与参与者种族不同时。本研究还表明，对内部人身份的看法更为细致入微，作为一个连续体而非二分法，可能更准确地反映参与者与研究人员之间的关系。
