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CONSIDERATIONS FOR ENGAGING HISPANIC/LATINO COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN FIREARM SAFETY & SUICIDE PREVENTION RESEARCH
Few studies have investigated suicide deaths involving firearms in Hispanic/Latino communities. This knowledge gap limits our ability to design, target, and evaluate prevention approaches that may reduce deaths and improve safe firearm practices in ways that reflect specific risks and cultural contexts in these communities.
This page shares key lessons from conversations with Hispanic/Latino community members about how researchers can better support participation in suicide-prevention and firearm-safety studies. These considerations highlight practical ways to improve accessibility, cultural responsiveness, and trust when working with Hispanic/Latino adults.
Click the image to download a PDF of these key lessons in English and Spanish.
1. Language Accessibility & Cultural Responsiveness
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Provide all study materials in Spanish. Offering recruitment ads, consent forms, instructions, and other materials in Spanish is important for reducing barriers and signaling inclusivity and welcomeness.
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Ensure the study itself can be conducted in Spanish. Having Spanish-speaking researchers or interpreters available is important for meaningful engagement and comfort.
2. Building Trust & Familiarity
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Use short videos to introduce the research team and key study concepts. Brief videos explaining the study’s purpose and showing who the researchers are can help increase familiarity, credibility, trust, and understanding.
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Partner with trusted community organizations. When relevant to your study, partnering with trusted service organizations (e.g., Hispanic/cultural centers, botánicas) may help facilitate study advertising and recruitment.
3. Reducing Practical Barriers to Participation
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Offer online participation options. Depending on the study design, providing virtual participation options is important for increasing inclusivity, especially for individuals with limited schedules, transportation constraints, or family obligations.
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Provide transportation or gasoline assistance. Transportation-related incentives can reduce burdens and improve feasibility of participation for in-person studies.
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Schedule participation outside working hours. Offering participation times during evenings, weekends, and holidays is important for accommodating work schedules and showing respect for participants’ availability.
4. Offering Value Beyond Participant Compensation
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Include educational or skill-building components. Providing knowledge, skills, or training related to suicide prevention or firearm safety can make participation more meaningful and beneficial for individuals, their families, and their communities.
Summary
Creating research environments that are culturally and linguistically accessible, trust-building, and responsive to practical needs can help improve Hispanic/Latino community participation in firearm-related suicide prevention research. Implementing strategies such as Spanish-language materials, introductory videos, flexible scheduling, transportation support, online participation options, and value beyond compensation can help foster inclusion and ensure community members feel respected, comfortable, and motivated to engage.
EXAMPLE PROTOCOL FOR COLLECTING COMMUNITY-INFORMED INPUT ON FIREARM SUICIDE PREVENTION WITH HISPANIC/LATINO COMMUNITY MEMBERS
The following protocol paper describes a formative evaluation process designed to gather community-informed insights to support the creation of an online information hub and collaboratory focused on suicide and firearm mortality in Hispanic/Latino communities in Utah. The protocol outlines procedures used to collect information from community members on how to best (1) share firearm suicide information and prevention resources and (2) facilitate future firearm suicide prevention research opportunities with Hispanic/Latino community members.
The protocol is free-to-access in both English and Spanish and may serve as a practical guide for other evaluators and researchers seeking ideas for collecting community-informed input to support engagement in firearm safety and suicide-related research.
English Version
Spanish Version
SHARE YOUR STUDY THROUGH THIS WEBSITE
Please contact goldsteinlab@utah.edu if you are a researcher interested in learning more about opportunities to share your firearm safety or suicide-prevention-related study on our Research Collaboratory page or through our voluntary newsletter, as approved by your Institutional Review Board.
The Resources for Community Members page provides information about resources that can help community members find research studies that need volunteers.
