Commentary: Engaging African Immigrants in Research – Experiences and Lessons from the Field

Abstract

Global migration from Africa to more economically developed regions such as the United States, Europe, the Middle East, and Australia has reached unprecedented rates in the past five decades. The size of the African immigrant population in the United States has roughly doubled every decade since 1970. However, research has not kept up with the growing size of this vulnerable population. Data from African immigrants have not traditionally been reported sepa­rately from Blacks/African Americans. There is growing interest in increasing the partici­pation of African immigrants in research to understand their unique health needs and the full spectrum of factors impacting their health, ranging from racial, social, environ­mental, and behavioral factors, to individual biological and genetic factors which may also inform health challenges. This line of inquiry may also inform our understanding of health disparities among their African American counterparts. However, little is known about effective community engage­ment and recruitment strategies that may increase the participation of this popula­tion in research studies. The purpose of this commentary is to: 1) describe lessons learned from our experiences engaging Afri­can immigrants in research in the Baltimore, Washington, DC, and Atlanta metropolitan areas; 2) discuss strategies for successful re­cruitment; and 3) consider future directions of research and opportunities to translate research findings into health policy for this population. Ethn Dis. 2019;29(4):617-622; doi:10.18865/ed.29.4.617

The Immigrant Memory Collaborative: A Community–University Partnership to Assess African Immigrant Families’ Experiences with Dementia

“…Additionally, in accordance with the tenets of health equity and distributive justice, there is a need to ensure that research is representative of all communities to ensure equitable distribution of risks and benefits [ 47 ]. Despite current and historical challenges, engaging community gate keepers, addressing religious and immigration factors, maximizing the research team’s cultural competence and promoting altruism through health education are some successful strategies for outreach and recruitment of African immigrants into research [ 48 , 49 ]. This manuscript relates one successful approach of collaborating with a community partner and project advisory board to conduct a culturally informed project with African immigrants.…”

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“…Recruitment from inpatient service, affiliated clinics, targeted phone calls and opt-out letters accounted for approximately a quarter (25%) of the sample. The use of several strategies assisted in overcoming barriers to recruit African Americans and other minority populations as noted in previous literature [16,24,26,27]. The shortcomings of one strategy were compensated for by another.…”

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“…Using convenience sampling, participants were recruited from community-based organizations and religious institutions. Many Africans identify with faith-based organizations and places of worship, such as churches and mosques, as these organizations provide immigrants and minority ethnic groups with a supportive and trusting environment [ 20 ]. Recruiting from religious organizations has also been successfully employed when recruiting “hard-to-reach” populations, such as African immigrants [ 20 ].…”

“…Many Africans identify with faith-based organizations and places of worship, such as churches and mosques, as these organizations provide immigrants and minority ethnic groups with a supportive and trusting environment [ 20 ]. Recruiting from religious organizations has also been successfully employed when recruiting “hard-to-reach” populations, such as African immigrants [ 20 ]. The inclusion criteria for the AIHS study included being 30 years or older and born in one of the following countries: Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, or Sierra Leone; able to communicate in English; and living in the Baltimore–Washington D.C. metropolitan area.…”