Meeting folks where they are: collecting data from ethnic groups in the community.

Since the Nazi medical experiments in Europe and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study in the United States, members of ethnic groups have been reluctant to participate in research. However, a National Institutes of Health policy mandates that researchers develop and implement strategies to insure the inclusion of women and minorities as subjects in clinical investigations. The purpose of this paper is to discuss methods found to be effective in recruiting and retaining members of ethnic groups as participants in three research projects. The three studies were: (a) Gambling Behaviors in African American Elders and Perceived Effects on Health, (b) Adolescent Risk Behavior, Self Esteem, and Social Influence: Comparison of Dominican Youth in Their Homeland and in the United States, and (c) A Multicultural Study of Support for Alzheimer's Caregivers.

From recipes to recetas: health beliefs and health care encounters in the rural Dominican Republic.

With the growing influx of immigrants from the Dominican Republic entering the U.S. yearly, it is important for nurses to become familiar with their traditional health beliefs and health care experiences. The purpose of this study was: (a) to identify health beliefs of rural Dominicans and (b) to describe health care encounters between rural Dominicans and a visiting team of U.S. nurses. The data on health beliefs were collected in six focus groups and were analyzed using content analysis techniques. Health encounter data were collected from 693 Dominicans as they presented to mobile clinics for care. Findings from the focus group interviews suggested that health beliefs fall into two major categories: physical and spiritual/mystical. The most frequently occurring health problems, summaries of medications dispensed, treatments provided, referrals made, and health teaching information are presented.