Essentials of Research Engagement With Native American Tribes: Data Collection Reflections of a Tribal Research Team.

Abstract

A community-based participatory research (CBPR) approach, particularly relevant when collecting data on sensitive topics, was employed to partner with reservation tribes to assess suicide risk among Native American (NA) youth. To share relationship-building strategies used by an NA research team to build a partnership for collecting data. Our collective knowledge was used to cultivate a deeper understanding of the community, build trust, and partner to engage in a respectful tribally appropriate research process. This approach provided a solid foundation for our inquiry on risk and protective factors for youth suicide. A culturally grounded approach recognizes the importance of (1) ethnic concordance, (2) cultural acceptance, (3) taking time to build trust, and (4) using CBPR principles. Significant participation of Native researchers in sensitive topics research with tribal communities is a promising strategy for trust building and partnership development. Understanding tribal context is imperative.