TY - JOUR
T1 - Sampling in Difficult to Access Refugee and Immigrant Communities
AU - Spring, Marline
AU - Westermeyer, Joseph
AU - Halcon, Linda
AU - Savik, Kay
AU - Robertson, Cheryl
AU - Johnson, David R.
AU - Butcher, James N.
AU - Jaranson, James
PY - 2003/12
Y1 - 2003/12
N2 - We evaluated sampling strategies and trust-building activities in a large multiphase epidemiologic study of torture prevalence in populations that were difficult to locate and enroll. Refugee groups under study were Somalis from Somalia and Oromos from Ethiopia who were living in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1999-2002. Without a complete sampling frame from which to randomly recruit participants, we employed purposive sampling methods. Through comparative and statistical analyses, we found no apparent differences between our sample and the underlying population and discovered no effects of recruiting methods on study outcomes, suggesting that the sample could be analyzed with confidence. Ethnographic trust and rapport-building activities among investigators, field staff, and immigrant communities made it possible to obtain the sample and gather sensitive data. Maintaining a culture of trust was crucial in recovering from damaging environmental events that threatened data collection.
AB - We evaluated sampling strategies and trust-building activities in a large multiphase epidemiologic study of torture prevalence in populations that were difficult to locate and enroll. Refugee groups under study were Somalis from Somalia and Oromos from Ethiopia who were living in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1999-2002. Without a complete sampling frame from which to randomly recruit participants, we employed purposive sampling methods. Through comparative and statistical analyses, we found no apparent differences between our sample and the underlying population and discovered no effects of recruiting methods on study outcomes, suggesting that the sample could be analyzed with confidence. Ethnographic trust and rapport-building activities among investigators, field staff, and immigrant communities made it possible to obtain the sample and gather sensitive data. Maintaining a culture of trust was crucial in recovering from damaging environmental events that threatened data collection.
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U2 - 10.1097/01.nmd.0000100925.24561.8f
DO - 10.1097/01.nmd.0000100925.24561.8f
M3 - Article
C2 - 14671458
AN - SCOPUS:0346118812
VL - 191
SP - 813
EP - 819
JO - Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
JF - Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease
SN - 0022-3018
IS - 12
ER -