Building Trust: Listening to the Community to Learn How to Engage with Residents of Hartford City
Item
Poster Number
17
Poster Title
Building Trust: Listening to the Community to Learn How to Engage with Residents of Hartford City
First Presenter
Victoria Hoffman
Other Contributors
Logan Meadows
Abstract
The purpose of this community engagement study is to reflect upon the cultural appropriateness of recruitment strategies utilized in a research study implemented in Hartford City, Indiana. Residents organized to investigate heavy metal pollution originating from a local steel recycling plant located in a residential area to ascertain if there might be an impact on local community health issues. To address this question, outside research expertise has been drawn upon. Community engagement is necessary for the study; however, rural communities often may mistrust research teams depending upon how the team engages with the community. The study will be personally invasive, so trust-building techniques are fundamental to this engagement process. For example, participants may be asked to submit urine and toenail samples, so efforts were made to arrange for samples in a location that is trusted by the community (e.g., the hospital). The research study is designed in accordance with the principles of community engagement shape the design of the study to promote a collaborative approach between the community and outside researchers. In addition, theories from the social sciences and organizational leadership were combined with interviews of local residents to tailor the trust-building strategies to the community. These strategies were then applied when engaging with residents to recruit participants into the research study.
Year
2022
Embargo
no embargo
