Cultural Sensitivity of a Community-Based Falls Prevention Program Targeting Older Arab American

Abstract

Falls are a frequent and costly cause of injuries and functional decline in the elderly. Tai Chi is a cost-effective strategy for preventing falls in older adults. Many senior centers have introduced Tai Chi programs to increase mobility and decrease the risk of falls. However, the practice has yet to be widely disseminated to ethnic minorities who are not culturally connected to Tai Chi. This paper describes implementation barriers and recruitment and retention challenges of Arab American participants in a Tai Chi intervention-based health promotion program, including issues related to community organization and staffing, recruitment and retention, need for building relationships, need for translation and interpreters, and cultural barriers & misconceptions. Understanding and paying adequate attention to these challenges may help facilitate in planning other health promotion interventions targeting Arab American population.

Participants’ perspectives of a fall prevention exercise program in older Arab Americans: A focus group study

“…[22] Bilingual study coordinators from the same cultural background can increase the total number of participants and subgroups of research participants, thereby increasing the success rate of the study. [25] The final key element of our program is conducting the intervention in a community-based organization that the participants frequently visit for health and social services. The non-profit health and social service organization we worked with played a pivotal role in subject recruitment and program implementation.…”

“…See TCF previously reported. [25] 2.4 Data collection and management Eight female participants attended the 1-hour focus group discussion. Focus group method is particularly useful for exploring participant's knowledge and experiences and can be used to examine not only what people think but how and why, which do not discriminate against people who cannot read or write, and can encourage participation from people reluctant to be interviewed on their own or who feel they have nothing to say.…”