Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia

Public or community engagement (PE/CE) is an increasingly important component of biomedical research. However, PE/CE projects have been criticized for focusing on the 'convenient sample' populations that are more accessible and more likely to respond, thus missing out the less-socially vis...

Ful tanımlama

Detaylı Bibliyografya
Asıl Yazarlar: Nguyen Thanh, H, Cheah, PY, Chambers, M
Materyal Türü: Journal article
Dil:English
Baskı/Yayın Bilgisi: F1000Research 2019
_version_ 1826277585159454720
author Nguyen Thanh, H
Cheah, PY
Chambers, M
author_facet Nguyen Thanh, H
Cheah, PY
Chambers, M
author_sort Nguyen Thanh, H
collection OXFORD
description Public or community engagement (PE/CE) is an increasingly important component of biomedical research. However, PE/CE projects have been criticized for focusing on the 'convenient sample' populations that are more accessible and more likely to respond, thus missing out the less-socially visible groups. In January 2018, engagement practitioners from across Southeast Asia, attending a regional workshop, undertook a discussion about the 'hard-to-reach' populations in the region, and how PE projects can better engage them.  This paper is a summary of that discussion. After an initial brainstorming exercise the hard-to-reach populations identified by workshop participants were broadly categorised into three groups: urban poor, ethnic minority groups and children in rural primary schools. Delegates identified common characteristics of the populations and possible interventions to reach them. Notes of the discussions were used as data for the report. Four common issues that become barriers for engagement were identified: (1) financial instability; (2) mobility in residency and work; (3) discrimination and isolation; and (4) limitations in local resources. It is important to recognise that a group might be more disadvantaged by one factor than the others, but often these issues inter-relate to restrict outreach. In order to engage these populations, a tailor-made programme, that suits the local context, should be created. This can be done through four strategies that have the acronym 'FIND': (1) Formative research to improve understanding of the population; (2) Integrating into local life; (3) Networking with relevant stakeholders; and (4) Developing local resources.  Our discussion highlights the importance of a deep understanding of the local contexts in order to implement relevant and acceptable engagement projects. Findings from this report may be useful for planning public engagement projects in similar settings.
first_indexed 2024-03-06T23:31:07Z
format Journal article
id oxford-uuid:6c0d8e77-e135-4030-b699-cd8eecab5a6c
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-06T23:31:07Z
publishDate 2019
publisher F1000Research
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:6c0d8e77-e135-4030-b699-cd8eecab5a6c2022-03-26T19:08:18ZIdentifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast AsiaJournal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_dcae04bcuuid:6c0d8e77-e135-4030-b699-cd8eecab5a6cEnglishSymplectic ElementsF1000Research2019Nguyen Thanh, HCheah, PYChambers, MPublic or community engagement (PE/CE) is an increasingly important component of biomedical research. However, PE/CE projects have been criticized for focusing on the 'convenient sample' populations that are more accessible and more likely to respond, thus missing out the less-socially visible groups. In January 2018, engagement practitioners from across Southeast Asia, attending a regional workshop, undertook a discussion about the 'hard-to-reach' populations in the region, and how PE projects can better engage them.  This paper is a summary of that discussion. After an initial brainstorming exercise the hard-to-reach populations identified by workshop participants were broadly categorised into three groups: urban poor, ethnic minority groups and children in rural primary schools. Delegates identified common characteristics of the populations and possible interventions to reach them. Notes of the discussions were used as data for the report. Four common issues that become barriers for engagement were identified: (1) financial instability; (2) mobility in residency and work; (3) discrimination and isolation; and (4) limitations in local resources. It is important to recognise that a group might be more disadvantaged by one factor than the others, but often these issues inter-relate to restrict outreach. In order to engage these populations, a tailor-made programme, that suits the local context, should be created. This can be done through four strategies that have the acronym 'FIND': (1) Formative research to improve understanding of the population; (2) Integrating into local life; (3) Networking with relevant stakeholders; and (4) Developing local resources.  Our discussion highlights the importance of a deep understanding of the local contexts in order to implement relevant and acceptable engagement projects. Findings from this report may be useful for planning public engagement projects in similar settings.
spellingShingle Nguyen Thanh, H
Cheah, PY
Chambers, M
Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia
title Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia
title_full Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia
title_fullStr Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia
title_full_unstemmed Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia
title_short Identifying 'hard-to-reach' groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research: perspectives from engagement practitioners in Southeast Asia
title_sort identifying hard to reach groups and strategies to engage them in biomedical research perspectives from engagement practitioners in southeast asia
work_keys_str_mv AT nguyenthanhh identifyinghardtoreachgroupsandstrategiestoengagetheminbiomedicalresearchperspectivesfromengagementpractitionersinsoutheastasia
AT cheahpy identifyinghardtoreachgroupsandstrategiestoengagetheminbiomedicalresearchperspectivesfromengagementpractitionersinsoutheastasia
AT chambersm identifyinghardtoreachgroupsandstrategiestoengagetheminbiomedicalresearchperspectivesfromengagementpractitionersinsoutheastasia