title: The willingness to participate in health research studies of individuals with Turkish migration backgrounds: barriers and resources.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lower participation rates of ethnic minorities in health research studies and potential participation barriers are commonly reported.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four semi-structured focus groups of individuals with Turkish migration backgrounds living in Germany were conducted to identify potential participation barriers. Documented statements and superscripted presentation cards by the participants were evaluated with a qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The following eight potential reasons for the lower participation rates were identified: role of women, lack of knowledge, lack of interest, German-Turkish interactions, mistrust, anxiety, data privacy protection and benefits of the study. Additionally, the following recruitment strategies to enhance participation rates were found: public relations, especially word-of-mouth promotion and contacting Turkish key figures, (non-) tangible incentives and trust building through transparent communication of the project and its conditions.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings provide a wide range of potential participation barriers and implications that should be considered to enhance the participation rates of minority populations.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The willingness to participate in health research studies can be increased through particular efforts, which should be tailored to the recruitment of the underrepresented target population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. d.dingoyan@uke.de
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dingoyan
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mösko
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D035843:Biomedical Research; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice / Q000208:ethnology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009042:Motivation; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology*; D035502:Trust; D014421:Turkey / Q000208:ethnology