Different Approaches to Cross-Lingual Focus Groups: Lessons From a Cross-Cultural Community-Based Participatory Research Project in the ENRICH Study
Abstract
Focus groups are a useful strategy in qualitative health research when it is important to understand how social contexts shape participants’ health. However, when cross-lingual focus groups are conducted, and in languages in which the researcher is not fluent, it raises questions regarding the usefulness and rigor of the findings. In this article, we will discuss three different approaches to cross-lingual focus groups used in a community-based participatory research project with pregnant and postpartum, African immigrant women in Alberta, Canada. In two approaches, we moderated focus groups in women’s mother tongue with the support of real-time interpreters, but in the first approach, audio recording was used and in the second approach, audio recording was not used. In the third approach, a bilingual moderator facilitated focus groups in women’s mother tongue, with transcription and translation of audio-recorded data upon completion of data generation. We expect the lessons learned in this project may assist others in planning and implementing cross-lingual focus groups, especially in the context of community-based participatory research.
Notes
Location
Edmonton, Alberta
Community organizations
the Multicultural Health Brokers (MCHB) Co-operative, in Edmonton, Alberta
Key recommendations
Researchers need to first and foremost follow principles of Community-Based Participatory Research Program (CBPR) and be considerate of the cultural settings of their participants
Key findings
In cross-cultural Community-Based Participatory Research Program (CBPR), the best approach to cross-lingual focus groups is the one identified by the community and the one that respects their preferred ways of sharing knowledge, and allows researchers to co-learn with participants.
Key populations
African immigrant women
Gaps identified
Researchers don’t always speak the language of their research participants
Integration timeline
At what point during the integration process the study was conducted?
Women who had been living in Canada between 1 and 36 months.
Open-access – Yes
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1609406915621419