Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Sciences, Wayne State University School of Medicine, Detroit, MI, USA.
Community Health and Research Center, Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services, Dearborn, MI, USA.
Fam Pract. 2019 May 23;36(3):325-331. doi: 10.1093/fampra/cmy071.
The Arab Muslim and Chaldean Christian American community is unified by language but culturally diverse. Researchers are challenged to engage the Arab/Chaldean community to meet immigrant health needs. Arabs/Chaldeans are identified as white in clinical data sets making it difficult to identify health behaviours and patterns unique to the community.
To explore the views of members of the Arab/Chaldean community, including researchers and the lay public, regarding health research participation and the role of clinicians, researchers and community leaders in the research process.
A qualitative study of Arab and Chaldean adults and researchers conducted in a US community with a large Arab/Chaldean population. Five semi-structured focus group discussions were triangulated with five in-depth semi-structured interviews with Arab or Chaldean primary care researchers. Responses were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were coded and thematically analysed, and findings confirmed with community representatives.
Three themes were identified: (i) research expectations: risks and benefits; (ii) health care environment: clinicians as recruiters and (iii) research participations: risks and benefits. Themes captured concerns with social relationships, reputation or trust and the cost and benefit of research participation. In the Arab/Chaldean community, institutional and political fears and distrust are amplified. Respect for physicians, teachers and faith leaders connected with or recruiting for studies enhances likelihood of research participation.
Clinical researchers should address the cultural and immigration histories of Arab/Chaldean research participants. Studies that maximize trust will minimize participation bias and lay the groundwork for improved health. Institutional, sociocultural and personal factors require a pre-study phase to engage and educate participants.
阿拉伯穆斯林和迦勒底基督教美国社区因语言相通，但文化多元而团结在一起。研究人员在满足移民健康需求方面面临着与阿拉伯/迦勒底社区接触的挑战。在临床数据集，阿拉伯/迦勒底人被认定为白人，这使得难以确定该社区特有的健康行为和模式。
探讨阿拉伯/迦勒底社区成员（包括研究人员和普通公众）对健康研究参与的看法，以及临床医生、研究人员和社区领袖在研究过程中的作用。
在美国一个拥有大量阿拉伯/迦勒底人口的社区中，对阿拉伯和迦勒底成年人和研究人员进行了定性研究。将五次半结构化焦点小组讨论与五次与阿拉伯或迦勒底初级保健研究人员的深入半结构化访谈进行三角剖分。将录音记录并逐字转录。对记录进行编码和主题分析，并与社区代表一起确认调查结果。
确定了三个主题：（i）研究期望：风险和收益；（ii）医疗保健环境：临床医生作为招募者；（iii）研究参与：风险和收益。主题涵盖了对社会关系、声誉或信任的担忧，以及研究参与的成本和收益。在阿拉伯/迦勒底社区中，对制度和政治的恐惧和不信任被放大了。对医生、教师和信仰领袖的尊重与研究相关或为研究招募，会增加研究参与的可能性。
临床研究人员应了解阿拉伯/迦勒底研究参与者的文化和移民历史。最大限度地提高信任的研究将最大限度地减少参与偏见，并为改善健康奠定基础。制度、社会文化和个人因素需要一个预研究阶段来接触和教育参与者。
