摘要：Although intervention research is vital to eliminating health disparities, many groups with health disparities have had negative research experiences, leading to an understandable distrust of researchers and the research process. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches seek to reverse this pattern by building trust between community members and researchers. We highlight strategies for building and maintaining trust from an American Indian CBPR project and focus on 2 levels of trust building and maintaining: (1) between university and community partners and (2) between the initial project team and the larger community. This article was cowritten by community and academic partners; by offering the voices of community partners, it provides a novel and distinctive contribution to the CBPR literature. Trust between American Indian community members and academic researchers is crucial to the success of intervention research with these communities. Researchers without prior experience of conducting research in American Indian communities may be unaware of the critical role of, or efforts required in, developing and maintaining trust. Many American Indian communities have been analyzed, stereotyped, and exploited by outside groups, resulting in uneasiness with nontribal members. American Indians are often suspicious of unfamiliar individuals who come to their community and want to conduct research. Given the state of American Indian health, much research needs to be done to eliminate existing health disparities. At present, because of a dearth of American Indian pubic health researchers, non–American Indians are needed to assist in conducting research. Experience has shown that without trust between community members and academic researchers, research in American Indian communities will not succeed. 1 We are a collaborative group of American Indian community partners and American Indian and non–American Indian academic research partners. The literature contains many recommendations for conducting research with American Indian populations, 2 – 7 including the importance of building trust. There are also examples of intervention research projects that have worked to build trust between American Indian communities and academic researchers and the lessons learned. 8 – 12 We describe steps taken in one project to establish and maintain trust from the view of both community and academic research partners. Although actions toward building and maintaining trust must be taken by both types of partners, we highlight strategies for researchers interested in building trust in community settings. We describe a project that uses a community-based participatory research approach between the Crow (Apsáalooke) Indian Nation and Montana State University. Tribal programs, government, and community members use the terms Crow and Apsáalooke interchangeably to refer to the tribe. Even though the term Crow is a result of misinterpretation of Apsáalooke by White trappers and traders, it is appropriate and more commonly used by tribal members and others than Apsáalooke. The project, Messengers for Health, uses a lay health adviser approach to decrease cervical cancer screening barriers, increase knowledge regarding screening and prevention of cervical cancer, and increase Crow women’s participation in cervical cancer screening. The project also works in collaboration with the Indian Health Service Crow Service Unit to provide high-quality health care to all members of the Crow Nation. Montana State University receives funding for Messengers for Health through 2010. Discussions on the next phase of the project, which will begin in 2008, will likely include consideration of Messengers for Health becoming a nonprofit, community-based organization with a subcontract to Montana State University.
