The Impact of Research Results Feedback on the Lived Experiences of Elderly Participants in the DIMAMO Health Demographic Site: A Case of AWI-Gen Participants

TL;DR

This study shows that giving research results back to elderly participants in a rural community improves their health awareness and behaviors.

Contribution

The study highlights the novel impact of returning individual research results to low-income elderly participants in health research.

Findings

Returning research results increased health awareness and lifestyle changes among participants.

Participants showed improved health-seeking behaviors due to feedback.

Feedback fosters stronger researcher–community partnerships and better health outcomes.

Abstract

The concept of engaging the community in the results of research or returning individual results to the respective participants seems more of an afterthought than an integral part of research processes. The study aims to assess the impact of research results feedback among study participants from a rural black community of low socio-economic status. The study was qualitative. The interview data was analyzed using a deductive content analysis method to develop themes. The present study included about 31 individuals, of which 79% were women and 29% were men. The study used deductive content analysis to identify themes. These themes included health and lifestyle awareness, perceived benefits of research participation, community perception of health research, economic and social motivations, and challenges and concerns. The present study shed light on the importance of returning individual results for participants in health research. Providing feedback was found to improve participants’ health awareness, lifestyle behavior and contribute to early disease detection, especially for conditions that are not routinely tested in clinics. The themes that were generated showed that participants altered their lives and health-seeking behavior because of the information they received from participating in research, a situation that would not have happened if they did not have the results back. The findings of the present study indicate that it is important to return feedback results post conducting a research study. Returning results not only improves the livelihood of participants at the community level but also has the potential to foster strong researcher–community partnerships to enhance research participation and health outcomes, especially in disadvantaged populations.

Figures