Leveraging Key Informant Interviews to Inform Intervention Development: The Greater Lawndale Healthy Work Project

Abstract

Background The Greater Lawndale Healthy Work project is a sequential mixed methods community based participatory research project that examines work as a structural determinant of health and builds community capacity for healthy work in a predominantly Black and Latinx community in Chicago known as Greater Lawndale (GL). Objectives We interviewed community leaders in GL as key informants to understand the barriers to healthy work and inform intervention development. Methods We conducted a directed content analysis of transcripts from 20 key informants and coded the social ecology and type of intervention. Results Every key informant mentioned at least one asset in GL, showing an opportunity to employ a capacity-oriented approach to intervention development. Key informants suggested a variety of interventions to address precarious work across levels of the social ecology, with individual and community level interventions being the most salient. Conclusion Through this approach, we were able to navigate tensions and challenges in conducting research for community-wide change. Key informant stakeholder interviews can be leveraged to meaningfully inform intervention development and support the development of multi-level, sustainable, and culturally acceptable interventions that advance health equity.