Partnering to collect health services and public health data in hard-to-reach communities: a community-based participatory research approach for collecting community health data.
BACKGROUND
Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches are increasingly used in behavioral studies but also may allow public health and health services researchers to study determinants of health in hard-to-reach communities for whom existing data are missing.


OBJECTIVE
We describe our experience with a CBPR project in diverse communities of limited English proficient minorities.


METHODS
The process included relationship building, recognition of community needs, resource investment by community and academic partners, and shared decision-making. Community-driven implementation, academic-driven analysis, and joint reporting took advantage of diverse layers of expertise. RESULTS/LESSONS LEARNED: We mobilized eighteen community interviewers, involved researchers from three institutions, and collected public health/health services data from 525 adults in seven weeks using a 117-item survey in nine languages.


CONCLUSIONS
A CBPR approach can make the process of collecting public health and health services data in hard-to-reach communities not only viable, but also highly successful.
Nguyen
Giang
G
University of Pennsylvania, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, PA, USA.
Hsu
Leah
L
Kue
Kao N
KN
Nguyen
Thoai
T
Yuen
Elaine J
EJ
D000328:Adult; D001213:Asian; D019058:Community Networks; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D020380:Needs Assessment; D015143:Philadelphia