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

Abstract #117258

Andy Lampkin, PhD, Department of Religion, Oakwood College, 7000 Adventist Blvd, Huntsville, AL 35896, 256-726-7357, alampkin@oakwood.edu, Gary Fraser, MD, PhD, Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Loma Linda University, School of Public Health, Evans Hall, Room 203, Loma Linda, CA 92350, R. Patti Herring, PhD, RN, School of Public Health, Health Promotion & Education, Loma Linda University, Nichol Hall, Room 1509, Loma Linda, CA 92350, Colwick M. Wilson, PhD, Department of Counseling and Family Sciences, Loma Linda University, Griggs Hall, Graduate School, Loma Linda, CA 92350, Susanna Montgomery, PhD, MPH, Health Promotion & Education, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Nichol Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350, and RoWandalla Dunbar, MPH, Preventive Sciences, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Nichol Hall, Loma Linda, CA 92350.

Blacks in the US suffer and die prematurely from many preventable and treatable diseases.One of the initial goals of Healthy People(HP) was to reduce health disparities among ethnic/racial groups.This objective has yet to be achieved and remains a goal of HP 2010. Research conducted on Blacks is necessary to better understand the poor disease outcomes, their etiology and appropriate treatment protocols.Several studies indicate that Blacks, as compared to other ethnic/racial groups, are less likely to participate in health research, are more difficult to recruit and retain. Researchers have identified possible barriers to recruitment and participation to include lack of understanding of the significance of research, mistrust and fears of exploitation.The purpose of this study is to use both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate, understand lack of participation, and to identify strategies to overcome these barriers. Participants consist of 400 Black Adventists in CA and AL who were given the opportunity to participate in a larger cohort study, Adventist Health Study-2.AHS-2 is one of the largest nationwide studies of its kind in the US and Canada. One aim is to identify barriers and motivations to participation in health research among Black Adventists. These findings can provide useful insight into the attitudes and perceptions toward participation in research and can be generalized to the Black population at large.The results will help educate researchers on ways to effectively recruit and work with Black participants in order to increase participation in health research, with the ultimate goal of reducing health disparities.

Learning Objectives: