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‘Be Gentle and Be Sincere About It’: A Story About Community-Based Primary Care Research

¹ Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque
² RIOS Net Community Advisory Board, Albuquerque, New Mexico

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Andrew L. Sussman, PhD, MCRP, Department of Family and Community Medicine, Health Sciences Center, University of New Mexico, MSC09-5040 ,1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131-0001 asussman{at}salud.unm.edu

ABSTRACT

Practice-based researchers in primry care have increasingly recognized the need to include community members in research efforts. In this reflective vignette, the importance of community engagement is realized through the researcher’s ability to elicit and interpret an alternative story told by a respected local resident in a focus group. The focus group was part of a study examining communication between patients and clinicians about traditional medicine in New Mexico. During this session, yerba mansa, a plant used in traditional medicine, became a powerful cultural metaphor for expressing concerns about the intentions of outside researchers. This story shows how creating opportunities for sustained engagement with the people we serve can lead to more sensitive ways to establish research partnerships.

Key Words: Research, participatory • Anemopsis californica • Hispanic Americans • anthropology, cultural • complementary therapies • practice-based research network

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