Achieving Broad Participation in Congregational Health Surveys at African American and Latino Churches.
Congregation-based health program evaluations often rely on surveys, but little documentation is available regarding specific methods and challenges. Here we describe methods used to achieve acceptable response rates (73-79%) to a survey of HIV-related attitudes and behaviors in 2 African American and 3 Latino churches in high HIV prevalence communities in Los Angeles County. Survey participation was enhanced by: conducting survey sessions at church-based meetings (e.g., women's Bible study) and after worship services; employing diverse survey staff; providing participation incentives for pastors, church coordinators, and survey participants; and working collaboratively and respectfully with congregational leaders. Achieving broad participation in church-based surveys on sensitive health topics is feasible when done collaboratively with congregational leaders and with a flexible protocol, which permits tailoring survey approaches to cultural and organizational contexts and leverages available resources appropriately.
Survey Research Group, RAND Corporation.
Jennifer
J
Hawes-Dawson
Health Program, RAND Corporation.
Kathryn Pitkin
KP
Derose
Clinical Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
Frances M
FM
Aunon
Health Program, RAND Corporation.
Blanca X
BX
Dominguez
Health Program, RAND Corporation.
Alexandria
A
Felton
Azusa Pacific Seminary, Azusa, California.
Michael A
MA
Mata
Bryant Temple African Methodist Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, California.
Clyde W
CW
Oden
Survey Research Group, RAND Corporation.
Sandra
S
Paffen