Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #113148

Ilana Reisz, MA, PT, PhD cand, Behavioral Science, University of Texas Health Science Center School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler, Houston, TX 77030, 713.667.0632, reisz@sbcglobal.net

It is generally recognized that African Americans are resistant to participation in health studies especially with Caucasian investigators. This study demonstrates that the meaning for the participants of the research topic may be an important factor in enlisting study participants. Participatory research is valuable for exploring contextual issues in qualitative studies and for enriching more traditional research. I recruited nine older African American women between ages 59 and 88 who were long time residents of an historic black inner-city neighborhood. Older African American women who are disabled, live alone, and have life-long experience of poverty and urban decay, are vulnerable to increased morbidity and mortality. The participants were divided into 3 generational groups, engaged in a series of 3 conversations with each other and the investigator about topics related to their aging and health. These dialogues were videotaped. The detailed findings of the study will be reported elsewhere. Findings confirmed the known importance of faith and the church, the effects of racism, and concern for the loss of community. Unexpected were the relative ease of recruitment and the participants' expressions of gratitude for being selected for the study. They valued the opportunity to reflect on their lives with peers and felt empowered by a sense of contribution to a study about aging and health in older African American women. The study's immediate outcomes were the expressions of concern and offers of instrumental support that the younger women had for the older participants.

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