Identifying best practices for formative data collection in Asian Pacific Islander immigrant communities

Background: Asian Pacific Islander (API) immigrant communities are often labeled as a “hard-to-reach” population. Limited data exists on their knowledge of hepatitis B (HBV) or preferred sources for receiving health information. Innovative methods are needed to conduct research in this population. Objective: (1) Identify best practices for data collection among APIs. (2) Develop an evidence-based formative data collection plan for an HBV educational campaign for Chinese and Koreans in New York City using community-based participatory research (CBPR). Methods: A literature review was conducted on formative research methods and survey methods for APIs. Community and academic partners assessed results and feasibility of proposed methods during planning meetings. Results: Studies commonly used focus groups, telephone surveying, or venue-based surveying at community partner sites. During our planning meetings, community partners were instrumental in identifying successful community-based survey methodologies. A multi-phase research plan was developed that includes environmental scans, venue-based and street-intercept surveying, and focus groups. Preliminary results indicate that a telephone survey would have missed 30% of our street-intercept and venue-based survey respondents. Discussion: A successful mixed-methods research plan was developed that included effective practices that were only identified through CBPR. Street surveying is a promising practice and may be more effective than telephone surveying for API immigrant populations. More research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods, especially for research in API communities.