Issues of instrument translation in research on Asian immigrant populations.

Health disparity research often includes non-English-speaking populations, and instrument translation is a major methodological issue with which researchers must contend. Yet most existing nursing research do not adequately describe translation method processes used. This article describes the procedures used to translate the Caregiver Reaction Assessment instrument into Ilocano for use in a study with elderly Filipinos caring for their grandchildren and the Parenting Practice Interview into Korean for use in a study of parenting practices among Korean immigrant parents. An explanation of Brislin's method for instrument translation is first provided, followed by a detailed description of how this method was applied in the two studies and the challenges encountered in assessing translation accuracy. Achieving semantic and content equivalence posed a major challenge in both studies. Recommendations for cross-cultural nursing research are provided; the experiences described in this article illuminate translation issues to be considered by nurse researchers.

Grandparent caregiving role in Filipino American families.

The purpose of this preliminary study was to explore the Filipino American grandparent caregiver role of grandchildren. This descriptive qualitative study utilized three data collection methods: demographic information sheet, focus group, and field notes. The Filipino American grandparents were recruited from a church in Honolulu, Hawaii. Thematic analysis was used to analyze narrative data. Filipino American grandparents view the grandparenting caregiving role as a normative process rather than a burden in which families take on responsibilities as part of cultural beliefs and norms such as pakikisama, utang na loob, and authoritarianism. Pakikisama is family unity and closeness and Utang na loob is mutual reciprocity "the give and take" and obligation in relationships.

Grandparent caregiving role in ethnically diverse families.

The grandparenting caregiving role in ethnically diverse families has not been well defined and described in the present literature. The goals of this article are to (a) synthesize what is known about the grandparent caregiving role in ethnically diverse families in the context of the African-American, Hispanic, and Asian-American families and (b) identify gaps in knowledge to guide future research, education, and practice in this area of study. A narrative approach was used to review the literature from 1980 to 2003 and a descriptive summary of the literature is provided with a discussion of the research methods and salient findings.