title: Culture as a variable in health research: perspectives and caveats.
abstract: To augment the rigor of health promotion research, this perspective article describes how cultural factors impact the outcomes of health promotion studies either intentionally or unintentionally. It proposes ways in which these factors can be addressed or controlled in designing studies and interpreting their results. We describe how variation within and across cultures can be considered within a study, e.g. the conceptualization of research questions or hypotheses, and the methodology including sampling, surveys and interviews. We provide multiple examples of how culture influences the interpretation of study findings. Inadequately accounting or controlling for cultural variations in health promotion studies, whether they are planned or unplanned, can lead to incomplete research questions, incomplete data gathering, spurious results and limited generalizability of the findings. In health promotion research, factors related to culture and cultural variations need to be considered, acknowledged or controlled irrespective of the purpose of the study, to maximize the reliability, validity and generalizability of study findings. These issues are particularly relevant in contemporary health promotion research focusing on global lifestyle-related conditions where cultural factors have a pivotal role and warrant being understood.
authors: Rehabilitation Sciences Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada hana.albannay@gmail.com hannoi.sweet@gmail.com.
authors: Hana
authors: H
authors: Al-Bannay
authors: Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors: Tal
authors: T
authors: Jarus
authors: Department of Occupational Therapy and Occupational Science, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors: Lyn
authors: L
authors: Jongbloed
authors: Scholar in Residence at the Centre for the Comparative Study of Muslim Societies and Cultures, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada.
authors: Maya
authors: M
authors: Yazigi
authors: Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
authors: Elizabeth
authors: E
authors: Dean
mesh_terms: D003469:Culture; D006293:Health Promotion; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D012107:Research Design
keywords: cultural variation; health promotion research; lifestyle-related conditions; methodological considerations