Aging research in multi-ethnic rural communities: gaining entrée through community involvement.

For aging research in rural multi-ethnic communities to be successful, research barriers must be anticipated, understood, and accommodated or reduced. This paper describes 'gaining entrée' into rural multi-ethnic communities in order to conduct effective aging research. The result of carefully 'gaining entrée' is increased communication with and more in-depth understanding of the study participants. An elder-centered conceptual model of rural communities is presented to demonstrate the points at which entrée can most efficiently be gained. Barriers from the perspectives of the researcher and the elderly research participants are discussed, and recommendations are given to overcome these barriers. Using examples from the Rural Nutrition and Health Study (RUN), the model is evaluated and a series of general recommendations for conducting aging research successfully in rural multi-ethnic communities is presented. By intensifying the quality of involvement of the research team with and knowledge of the community, the overall quality of the research data is enhanced.