Using a participatory research process to address disproportionate Hispanic cancer burden.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) offers great potential for increasing the impact of research on reducing cancer health disparities. This article reports how the Community Outreach Core (COC) of the Meharry-Vanderbilt-Tennessee State University (TSU) Cancer Partnership has collaborated with community partners to develop and implement CBPR. The COC, Progreso Community Center, and Nashville Latino Health Coalition jointly developed and conducted the 2007 Hispanic Health in Nashville Survey as a participatory needs assessment to guide planning for subsequent CBPR projects and community health initiatives. Trained community and student interviewers surveyed 500 Hispanic adults in the Nashville area, using a convenience sampling method. In light of the survey results, NLHC decided to focus in the area of cancer on the primary prevention of cervical cancer. The survey led to a subsequent formative CBPR research project to develop an intervention, then to funding of a CBPR pilot intervention study to test the intervention.

Assessing community readiness for change in the Nashville Hispanic community through participatory research.

BACKGROUND: "New-growth communities" with rapidly growing Hispanic populations often have little experience with addressing the needs of this population. "Community readiness for change" is the degree to which a community is prepared to take action on an issue. OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the stage of community readiness for change in the area of Hispanic health in Nashville, using the community readiness model (CRM) and a community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, through a partnership between an academic research center and a nonprofit, grassroots, Hispanic organization. METHODS: Qualitative and quantitative data were collected by trained community interviewers and the academic researcher using a semistructured questionnaire based on the CRM. The sample of key informants included (1) a purposive sample of 18 organizations, and (2) a convenience sample of 50 Hispanic community members. RESULTS: The organizations were at a higher stage (stage 5, preparation) than the Hispanic community members were (stage 4, preplanning), particularly in the dimensions of Leadership, Resources, and Knowledge of Efforts. The community members were also aware of fewer local efforts focused on Hispanic health than the organizations (average of 4.5 vs. 7.6). CONCLUSIONS: Recommendations were made for stageappropriate, community-level interventions. The assessment results are being used by Nashville Latino Health Coalition (NLHC) to plan collaborative initiatives to address Hispanic health needs in Nashville. This study demonstrates the utility of the CRM as a model for assessing a community's stage of readiness to take action, and the feasibility of applying it using a CBPR approach in a "new-growth" Hispanic community.