Bridging Research and Community: Insights from a Texas CEAL Regional Team Community Partner

Jannette Diep, C.H.W., is the executive director with Boat People SOS (BPSOS) – Houston, which is one of the Texas CEAL Regional Team’s (TX CEAL) community partners. TX CEAL will present its research findings at the upcoming American Public Health Association (APHA) Conference about assessing COVID-19 health disparities among Vietnamese Americans. This interview with Diep delves into the collaborative research efforts between TX CEAL and BPSOS-Houston and highlights the importance of building trust between public health researchers and community members. 

What is the goal of this research?

The goal of the research is to use the community-based participatory research framework to cultivate collaborative relationships that will strengthen future engagement of Vietnamese Americans in research.

How was BPSOS-Houston involved in the research with TX CEAL?

We became involved in this community-engaged research because of our work in the Vietnamese community. We provide immigration legal services and direct social services to the community such as increasing access to health care. When we were connected with the TX CEAL team, we felt that their research aligned with our work and that it is important for our community to participate in this effort to promote research in the Vietnamese community. BPSOS-Houston provided support in the facilitation of focus groups, collected data, conducted outreach, and recruited participants for the project.

What impact do you hope these community-engagement efforts will have on the community?

I think these efforts are going to foster community trust, participation, and engagement in research in a historically marginalized population. By involving Vietnamese Americans directly in the research process, it will create more trust in research institutions and lead to higher participation in future studies, with the broader goal of advancing health equity.

How did TX CEAL and BPSOS-Houston ensure that community voices were heard and integrated into the research?

To ensure that we heard community voices, we conducted focus groups and interviews. I believe that engaging the community members through these focus groups and interviews enables in-depth discussions and the collection of their diverse perspectives.

Why is it important for public health researchers to build trust with community members?

It's really important for public health researchers to build that trust with the community because by building that trust, public health researchers can create more meaningful, ethical, and effective research that truly benefits the community as a whole.

How has the partnership between TX CEAL and BPSOS-Houston benefited the community?

We really appreciate the opportunity to be a part of this research effort and to have our Vietnamese American community have their voices heard, as well as the opportunity for them to learn more about research, being engaged, and the changes that they can actually make in the community. We thank Texas CEAL for giving us the opportunity to take on this wonderful project. BPSOS-Houston has learned a great deal from our community members and how important community-based participatory research is.

Attend the TX CEAL presentation, Assessing COVID-19 health disparities among Vietnamese Americans: A community-based participatory research approach on Monday, October 28, from 12:30-1:30 p.m. at APHA.

View more upcoming CEAL presentations at APHA