The Symbolic Value and Limitations of Racial Concordance in Minority Research Engagement

The well-documented underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in research demands action. The field of health disparities research, however, lacks scientific consensus about how best to respectfully recruit underrepresented minority populations in research. We explore the investigators’ pe...

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Published inQualitative health research Vol. 26; no. 6; pp. 830 - 841
Main Authors Fryer, Craig S., Passmore, Susan R., Maietta, Raymond C., Petruzzelli, Jeff, Casper, Erica, Brown, Natasha A., Butler, James, Garza, Mary A., Thomas, Stephen B., Quinn, Sandra C.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.05.2016
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Biomedical Research - standards
Continental Population Groups
Ethnic Groups
Ethnicity
Female
Health disparities
Health technology assessment
Humans
Male
Medical research
Minority & ethnic groups
Minority Groups
Patient Selection
Race
Recruitment
Selfreflection
Social environment
Trust
United States
United States > US
ethnicity
race
minorities
qualitative analysis
research participation
relationships, research
vulnerable populations
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Summary:The well-documented underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in research demands action. The field of health disparities research, however, lacks scientific consensus about how best to respectfully recruit underrepresented minority populations in research. We explore the investigators’ perspective regarding how their own racial and ethnic background influenced their ability to recruit minorities, including (a) the influence of racial concordance (“race-matching”) in research recruitment, (b) attributes and shared values important in the development of trust with minority communities, and (c) the role self-reflection plays in the development of meaningful research relationships. In 2010, we conducted in-depth, semi-structured, telephone interviews with investigators (N = 31) experienced with minority populations. Through the analysis of this coherent narrative, we uncovered both the symbolic and surface-level assumptions regarding minority recruitment to expose a deep structural understanding of race, ethnicity, and social context that is critical for bridging the true social difference between researchers and participants.
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ISSN:1049-7323
1552-7557
DOI:10.1177/1049732315575708