title: Using participatory research to build an effective type 2 diabetes intervention: the process of advocacy among female Hispanic farmworkers and their families in Southeast Idaho.
abstract: The Formando Nuestro Futuro/Shaping our Future project (herewith, Formando) is a community-based participative research (CBPR) focused on type 2 diabetes. It was conceptualized and designed by a team of university-based researchers and community health workers (promotores). This article describes the process of establishing a CBPR project such as Formando and the most current results from that project. The Formando project is an example of health-focused advocacy with the Mexican agricultural workers in Southeast (SE) Idaho. To date, 172 qualitative interviews on participants' knowledge about type 2 diabetes have been carried out with farmworker women and their families. Biometric data (heights, weights, blood pressures and fasting blood glucoses) were obtained from participants. Fieldnotes, focus group discussions and key informants were used to triangulate findings. Significant quantitative findings include that age was significantly associated with Body Mass Index (BMI) (p < 0.001, Spearman Correlation < 0.001) and with elevated fasting blood glucose (p < 0.001, Spearman Correlation < 0.001). The qualitative interviews were thematically analyzed. Key themes associated with type 2 diabetes in this community were the connection between thinness and vanity, dieting and starvation and the onset of diabetes as a result of, what social scientists call, structural violence within the immigrants' daily lives. We conclude that long-term commitment to using the CBPR approach in these Mexican agricultural communities is an effective way to engage in health research and to establish real and meaningful dialogue with community members.
authors.affiliation: Hispanic Health Projects, Department of Anthropology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID 83209, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Cartwright
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schow
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Herrera
authors.forename: Yezenia
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Lora
authors.forename: Maricela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mendez
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pedroza
authors.forename: Leticia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pedroza
authors.forename: Angel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Trejo
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000383:Agriculture; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D018672:Community Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D003256:Community Participation / Q000379:methods*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D007061:Idaho; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D033262:Narration; D012107:Research Design; D035844:Researcher-Subject Relations / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires