Community-based participatory research in disaster preparedness among linguistically isolated populations: a public health perspective

Working with linguistically isolated immigrants on public health issues poses a set of methodological challenges unique to this population. We used community-based participatory research (CBPR) techniques to investigate the disaster preparedness needs of four linguistically isolated population groups in Houston, Texas (Vietnamese, Chinese, Somali, and Spanish-speaking) in partnership with community-based organizations and community researchers. As a local health department conducting CBPR, we witnessed various challenges, including: engaging and using interpreters versus using community researchers; translating focus group questions from English to other languages; recruiting participants from linguistically isolated populations; and handling issues of community power, data collection, and data reliability. In this article, we discuss these challenges, strategies used, and the outcomes of our approaches in the broader context of CBPR.