Engaging community in the quality of hypertension care project with Hmong Americans

Abstract

This paper describes the collaborative endeavors between researchers and the Hmong community to develop and test a quality of hypertension care survey instrument. In-depth interviews with community leaders and hypertensive patients enhanced the understanding of quality of care from Hmong socio-cultural perspectives. Knowledge gained from the Hmong community was integrated into the research process. The collaborative process led to generating a culturally sensitive survey instrument, overcoming cultural barriers for recruitment of survey participants, and facilitating community involvement in all aspects of research implementation. Applying community-sensitive research methods ensured the success of the project.