Background There is a growing interest in community based participatory research (CBPR) methods to address issues of health disparities. Although the success of CBPR is dependent upon the formation of community-researcher partnerships, new researchers as well as seasoned investigators who are transitioning to CBPR often lack the skills needed to develop and maintain these partnerships. Objectives The purpose of the article is to discuss the competencies needed by new researchers to form successful CBPR partnerships. Methods and Lessons learned The author presents a series of strategic steps that are useful in establishing academic-community partnerships and in initiating, maintaining and sustaining CBPR projects. These steps include suggestions regarding community engagement, selection of Community Advisory Board members, outreach, the community’s role in problem identification, selection of research methodologies, considerations related to the community setting, need for flexibility and patience, “insider vs. outsider” conflicts, commitment and training issues, timing concerns for tenure-track faculty and the process of community empowerment. Conclusions CBPR is both rewarding and time consuming, for both the researcher and members of the community. Given its promise to address health disparities, it is imperative that researchers acquire the skills needed to develop and cultivate durable community-researcher partnerships.

Purpose To verify and explicate the impact of marianismo beliefs on the physical activity behaviors of immigrant Latinas. Design/Method Twenty–eight immigrant Latinas, ages 18–40 years, were recruited to participate in two focus group interviews. Data collection and analysis were driven by Spradley’s Developmental Research Sequence (DRS) Results Two domain terms were identified: “Life is too fast here” and “The woman is the center of the family”. Six included terms and five cultural themes were specified. Discussion/Conclusions A combination of marianismo beliefs, acculturation stress, loss of social support and conflicts between collectivist and individualist values combine to adversely influence physical activity behaviors of immigrant Latinas. Implications for Practice Physical activity interventions for Hispanic women should capitalize on the strengths of the marianista, address factors leading to acculturation stress among women and their families and the establishment of bridges of social support among new groups of immigrants.

The purpose of this study was to examine the cultural knowledge that informs exercise behaviors among Black and Hispanic college-age women. Focus groups were conducted among 26 Black or Hispanic female college students. Questions were based on constructs from social cognitive theory. Data were analyzed using content analysis. Latinas were found to be more likely to view vigorous exercise as "unfeminine" and cited family responsibilities as barriers. Black women enjoyed the competition and camaraderie of exercise, but felt pressure to conform to White standards of beauty. There appear to be distinct differences in the cultural beliefs that inform exercise behaviors among these women.

ANCOVA is a widely used statistical procedure that is particularly useful in analyzing data from experimental designs. There are, however, a number of assumptions that must be tested before proceeding with the ANCOVA. Of particular concern is the assumption of homogeneity of regression slopes (HOS). When the HOS assumption has been violated, the researcher needs to look for an alternative approach to the ANCOVA. The Johnson-Neyman procedure (J-N) is presented as such an alternative. Although the calculations for the procedure are somewhat tedious and are not currently a standard feature of statistical software packages, an alternative approach using SAS syntax codes is presented.

Various explanations have been proposed to explain the low levels of physical activity among Latinas. Included is the construct marianismo, which describes the influence of cultural beliefs on gender role identity, including prioritisation of familial responsibilities over self-care. The purpose of the study was to explore the influence of marianismo beliefs on participation in habitual and incidental physical activity among middle-aged immigrant Hispanic women, using a community- based participatory research approach and Photovoice methodology. Eight immigrant Hispanic women were given digital cameras and asked to photograph typical daily routines, including household activities, family/childcare and occupational responsibilities. Subjects then met to discuss their impressions. Data were analysed using Spradley’s Developmental Research Sequence. Results revealed that a combination of marianismo beliefs and socioeconomic pressures appeared to negatively influence women’s ability to participate in physical activity.

There is evidence to suggest that aerobic fitness levels among adults have declined markedly over the past 2 to 3 decades. Submaximal field measures of aerobic fitness, such as step tests, may now be seen as aversive by contemporary neophyte exercisers. In this study, a single-factor within-subjects (repeated measures) factorial design was used to compare three field measures of cardiorespiratory fitness among sedentary women: (a) the Queen's College step test (QCST), (b) the Rockport 1-mile walk (RW), and (c) a nonexercise estimation of VO(2) max (NE). The sample consisted of 31 racially and ethnically diverse female college students (mean age of 24.8 years). No significant within-subjects differences were found in the three measures of V0(2) max (F = 1.89, p = .17) among Black, Hispanic, White non-Hispanic, or Asian women, but relative perceived exertion scores were significantly higher for the QCST than for the RW (t = 9.79, p < .001) for all groups. The mean calculated VO(2) max for the QCST was 35.90 ml/kg/min for the subset of women ages 18 to 25 and 31.85 for those ages 26 to 46. These values represent a "poor" to "below average" score for aerobic capacity among women in both age groups. Data from this preliminary study suggest that both the RW test and the NE test are comparable to the QCST as valid and reliable field measures of aerobic fitness and appear to be good alternatives to step testing among sedentary individuals.

The prevalence of obesity and obesity-related illnesses is higher among Hispanics (Latinos) than other racial and ethnic groups, and rates increase exponentially with the number of years living in the United States. Mounting evidence suggests that the origins of many chronic illnesses among disadvantaged minority groups may lie with cumulative exposure to chronic psychological and physiological stressors through the biobehavioral process of allostatic load (AL). Among immigrant Latinos, acculturation stress may contribute to an increase in AL and thus may be an independent risk factor for the development of obesity and obesogenic illnesses. The purpose of this theoretical article is to present a proposed model of the effects of acculturation stress on AL and obesity among Latino immigrants. Such a model can be useful to guide intervention efforts to decrease obesity among immigrant Latinos by adding education, skill building, and social integration strategies to healthy eating and physical activity to reduce the deleterious impact of acculturation stress.

As more Spanish speaking immigrants participate in and become the focus of research studies, questions arise about the appropriateness of existing research tools. Questionnaires have often been adapted from English language instruments and tested among college- educated Hispanic-Americans. Little has been written regarding the testing and evaluation of research tools among less educated Latino immigrants. The purpose of this study was to revise and evaluate the appropriateness of a battery of existing Spanish-language questionnaires for a physical activity intervention for immigrant Hispanic women. A three-step process was utilized to evaluate, adapt and test Spanish versions of the Self-Efficacy and Exercise Habits Survey, an abbreviated version of the Hispanic Stress Inventory-Immigrant version and the Latina Values Scale. The revised tools demonstrated acceptable validity and reliability. The adaptations improved the readability of the tools, resulting in a greater response rate, less missing data and fewer extreme responses. Psychometric limitations to the adaptation of Likert scales are discussed.