Department of Community Health Systems, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.
School of Nursing, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA, United States.
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2021 Mar 11;9(3):e23058. doi: 10.2196/23058.
The largest effort undertaken in precision health research is the Precision Medicine Initiative (PMI), also known as the All of Us Research Program, which aims to include 1 million or more participants to be a part of a diverse database that can help revolutionize precision health research studies. Research participation from Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in precision health research is, however, limited; this includes Vietnamese Americans, especially those with limited English proficiency. PMI engagement efforts with underserved communities, including members of minority populations or individuals who have experienced health disparities such as Vietnamese Americans with limited English proficiency, may help to enrich the diversity of the PMI.
The aim of this study is to examine the attitudes towards and perceptions of precision health, motivations and barriers to participation in precision health research, and acceptability of SMS text messaging as a recruitment and intervention strategy among underserved Vietnamese Americans.
A community sample of 37 Vietnamese Americans completed a survey and participated in one of 3 focus groups classified by age (18-30, 31-59, and ≥60 years) on topics related to precision health, participation in precision health research, texting or social media use experience, and insights on how to use text messages for recruitment and intervention. Participants were recruited via community organizations that serve Vietnamese Americans, flyers, word of mouth, and Vietnamese language radio announcements.
Most participants had little knowledge of precision health initially. After brief education, they had positive attitudes toward precision health, although the motivation to participate in precision health research varied by age and prior experience of research participation. The main motivators to participate included the desire for more knowledge and more representation of Vietnamese Americans in research. Participants were open to receiving text messages as part of their research participation and provided specific suggestions on the design and delivery of such messages (eg, simple, in both English and Vietnamese). Examples of barriers included misinterpretation of messages, cost (to send text messages), and preferences for different texting platforms across age groups.
This study represents one of the first formative research studies to recruit underserved Vietnamese Americans to precision health research. It is critical to understand target communities' motivations and barriers to participation in research. Delivering culturally appropriate text messages via age-appropriate texting and social media platforms may be an effective recruitment and intervention strategy. The next step is to develop and examine the feasibility of a culturally tailored precision health texting strategy for Vietnamese Americans.
精准健康研究中规模最大的一项工作是精准医学倡议（PMI），也称为“所有人研究计划”，该计划旨在纳入 100 多万人或更多参与者，建立一个多样化的数据库，帮助彻底改变精准健康研究。然而，亚裔美国人，包括越南裔美国人，特别是那些英语水平有限的人，在精准健康研究中的参与度有限。与包括少数族裔或经历过健康差异的人群在内的服务不足社区（如英语水平有限的越南裔美国人）开展 PMI 参与工作，可能有助于丰富 PMI 的多样性。
本研究旨在调查越南裔美国人对精准健康的态度和看法、参与精准健康研究的动机和障碍，以及他们对通过短信向服务不足的越南裔美国人进行招募和干预的可接受程度。
通过服务越南裔美国人的社区组织、传单、口口相传和越南语广播通告招募了一个社区样本，共 37 名越南裔美国人完成了一项调查，并参加了一个按年龄（18-30 岁、31-59 岁和≥60 岁）分类的焦点小组，讨论与精准健康、参与精准健康研究、短信或社交媒体使用经验相关的话题，以及关于如何利用短信进行招募和干预的见解。
大多数参与者最初对精准健康知之甚少。经过简短的教育，他们对精准健康持积极态度，但参与精准健康研究的动机因年龄和之前的研究参与经验而异。参与的主要动机包括希望获得更多知识和增加越南裔美国人在研究中的代表性。参与者愿意接受短信作为研究参与的一部分，并就短信的设计和传递提出了具体建议（例如，简单易懂，使用英文和越南文）。障碍包括对信息的误解、发送短信的成本以及不同年龄组对不同短信平台的偏好。
本研究是首次招募服务不足的越南裔美国人参与精准健康研究的形成性研究之一。了解目标社区参与研究的动机和障碍至关重要。通过年龄适当的短信和社交媒体平台传递文化上合适的短信可能是一种有效的招募和干预策略。下一步是制定并检验针对越南裔美国人的精准健康短信策略的可行性。
