Online Program

322201
Promoting Community-Based Participatory Research Methods in an American Indian Community: Building Trust, Sustaining Relationships, and Moving Forward


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 8:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

Felicia M. Mitchell, LMSW, School of Social Welfare, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS
A safe, sustainable water source is an essential element of any healthy community.  For over three decades an American Indian Tribe in the Midwest has had limited success in achieving water security for their community.  Water quality concerns coupled with climate change and recent droughts in the region have further exposed the Tribe’s vulnerabilities to securing a safe and sustainable water source.  This study used a community-based participatory research (CBPR) method known as photovoice.  Photovoice offered Tribal members an opportunity to critically reflect on their experiences and perceptions of water and its relationship to the health and well-being of their community. Photovoice reflects key CBPR principles that emphasize empowerment, individual and community strengths, co-learning, community capacity building, and balancing research with action.  The purpose of this session is to highlight practical CBPR experiences and share approaches used to recruit and retain American Indian participants in a CBPR study, as well as approaches used to engage Tribal communities in collaborative research.  Best practices and lessons learned will also be discussed.

Learning Areas:

Diversity and culture
Environmental health sciences
Other professions or practice related to public health
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Discuss successes, challenges, and lessons learned of engaging in CBPR with a Midwestern American Indian Community. Demonstrate how to facilitate the implementation of a CBPR project at the community level that utilizes culturally specific approaches to engage community partners, develop trust, establish rapport, and build synergy.

Keyword(s): Native Americans, Water & Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principle investigator of this study as part of my doctoral program, which includes receiving guidance from an interdisciplinary committee throughout the process. Among my scholarly and teaching interests has been social determinants of health among historically underrepresented groups, particularly American Indians.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.