title: Overcoming Challenges in Recruitment of South Asians for Health Disparities Research in the USA.
abstract: South Asians-individuals with origins in the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and other regions of the subcontinent-are an understudied and at-risk racial/ethnic minority population for disproportionate burden of preventable diseases in the USA. Notwithstanding lack of research disaggregating Asian American subgroups, a key factor in this paucity of data is the lack of participation and engagement of community members in studies which examine distribution and determinants of adverse health outcomes. The purpose of this case study series is to elucidate distinct barriers in recruitment of South Asians in health disparities research within four diverse study designs. These illustrations are followed by a discussion of effective strategies and promising practices to increase and enhance the participation of community members in health-related studies in order to ultimately understand and address disparities among this rapidly growing cultural group in the US systematic collection of data which not only is representative of this understudied population but also elucidates contextual influences on community health and well-being and is pivotal to the reduction and elimination of preventable disparities among South Asians in the USA.
authors.affiliation: Health Sciences Program, California State University, East Bay, 25800 Carlos Bee Boulevard, Student and Faculty Support Building 502, Hayward, CA, 94542, USA. Arnab.Mukherjea@CSUEastBay.edu.|Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley 2140 Shattuck Ave., 10th Floor, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA. Arnab.Mukherjea@CSUEastBay.edu.|Asian American Research Center on Health, 3333 California St., Suite 335, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA. Arnab.Mukherjea@CSUEastBay.edu.
authors.forename: Arnab
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjea
authors.affiliation: Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley 2140 Shattuck Ave., 10th Floor, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA.|Asian American Research Center on Health, 3333 California St., Suite 335, San Francisco, CA, 94118, USA.
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Ivey
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention Institute of California, 2201 Walnut Ave., Suite 300, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA.|Stanford University Cancer Institute, 265 Campus Drive, Suite G2103, Stanford, CA, 94305, USA.
authors.forename: Salma
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shariff-Marco
authors.affiliation: Health Research for Action, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley 2140 Shattuck Ave., 10th Floor, Berkeley, CA, 94704, USA.
authors.forename: Nilesh
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kapoor
authors.affiliation: Cancer Prevention Institute of California, 2201 Walnut Ave., Suite 300, Fremont, CA, 94538, USA.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Allen
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People; D003256:Community Participation; D006302:Health Services Research; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D014481:United States
keywords: Community engagement; Diversity; Health disparities; Recruitment; South Asians