title: Challenges and strategies for conducting sensitive research with an Arab American population.
abstract: Recruiting minority groups such as Arab Americans (Ar-Am) for research studies has been challenging. To date no studies were found that explicitly addressed challenges to recruit Ar-Am for sensitive research. The purpose of this article is to present the challenges across three pilot studies that involved Ar-Am samples and the strategies that were implemented to overcome these challenges. The challenges faced with conducting studies with Ar-Am included difficulty for participants to express emotions, influence of male/female authority to consent for the study, lack of trust to disclose sensitive information, language barrier, and slow recruitment. Having bilingual female recruiters of Arabic descent, engaging the women's family members in the consent process, and addressing the sensitive topics in culturally appropriate language were effective strategies to overcome these challenges. These strategies might be helpful for other researchers who recruit Ar-Am for sensitive research.
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: eh1489@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Shahrazad M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Timraz
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: Dalia.alhasanat@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Dalia I
authors.initials: DI
authors.lastname: Alhasanat
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: eg1130@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Maha M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Albdour
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: Linda.lewin@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Linda
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lewin
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: Carmen.giurgescu@wayne.ed.
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Giurgescu
authors.affiliation: Wayne State University, College of Nursing, 5557 Cass Avenue, Detroit, MI 48202, USA. Electronic address: Karen.kavanaugh@wayne.edu.
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kavanaugh
mesh_terms: D018912:Arabs; D003144:Communication Barriers; D005260:Female; D006302:Health Services Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010865:Pilot Projects; D014481:United States
keywords: Arab American; Culture; Recruitment challenges; Sensitive research; Strategy