APDC Grant Budget Justification

St. Catherine University

Principal Investigator: Carie Cox Project Title: Family planning decision-making and couple communication among Somali men and women in the Twin Cities

PERSONNEL Carie Cox, Ph.D., MPH, Principal Investigator; $500 Flat Stipend PI Cox is an Assistant Professor of Public Health at St. Catherine University. Her research focus is on understanding how gender and relationship dynamics influence contraceptive decision-making. She has extensive experience conducting qualitative research studies with underserved populations in sub-Saharan Africa and the U.S. This work has involved developing study protocols and topic guides, training and supervising research assistants to collect qualitative data through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews, analyzing qualitative data, and publishing and disseminating findings. Cox’s expertise in qualitative research methods, contraceptive decision-making, and relationship dynamics make her wellequipped to serve as the Principal Investigator for this study. Cox will be responsible for study oversight and leadership. She will facilitate the IRB application and development of study materials, guide data collection, and lead analysis and write-up of findings. She will mentor the student research assistant and train the interviewers in qualitative data collection and analysis. Furthermore, she will ensure that the study is conducted in a collaborative, culturally sensitive, and ethical manner. The APDC grant would support a flat stipend of $500 for Cox’s efforts. OTHER DIRECT COSTS Fathi Ahmed, Student Research Assistant; $1127 (~7 hours per week for 14 weeks at $11.50/hr) Ahmed is an undergraduate student majoring in public health with an interest in reproductive health and community partnerships. Ahmed will assist with the IRB application, development of study materials, data collection (monitor weekly progress through email and phone calls with WellShare International, coordinate translation and transcription of audio recordings with SoLaHmo, and check quality of transcription), and analysis and write-up. Ahmed will also provide cultural insight and expertise. Ahmed is currently working on this project through the Assistantship Mentoring Program at St. Catherine University, which will expire in December 2015. The APDC grant would support Ahmed’s continued involvement in the research project from February – May 2016. Consultant: Wellshare International; $1000 Flat Consulting Fee This qualitative research study is a collaboration with WellShare International, a nonprofit health organization located in Minneapolis. WellShare International works closely with immigrant and refugee populations in the Twin Cities and has been implementing family planning programs with the Somali community for over a decade. Since 2004, WellShare International has reached over 25,000 Somali immigrants and refugees in Minnesota with culturally sensitive family planning information and trained over 1200 health care providers and professionals about Somali cultural and reproductive health. Using input gathered from focus group discussions, advisory committee members, and health care professionals, WellShare International has developed and disseminated over 17,000 multilingual reproductive health materials in just over 10 years, many of which were to Somalis living in Minnesota and health care providers serving the Somali population. Findings from the proposed study will be used to adapt and strengthen current efforts. The APDC grant will support a flat rate consulting fee of $1000 to WellShare International to provide partial support for the FTE of the three co-investigators: Ashley Mitchell, Abdillahi Ganey, and Adar Kahin. Additional FTE support will be covered by WellShare International.

1 APDC Grant Budget Justification; Carie Cox

Ashley Mitchell, Program Manager, MPH Mitchell is the Program Manager of the Spacing Pregnancies Program for East African and Karen Communities (SPEAK) at WellShare International. Mitchell has more than six years of experience in public health including involvement in qualitative reproductive health research in African-born communities. She also has experience collecting and analyzing quantitative epidemiologic data on Minnesota residents, especially parents of young children. For the past three years she has worked primarily in reproductive health, supporting and managing programs providing culturally appropriate community-based education and resources to community members as well as the health care providers that serve them. Mitchell will serve as co-investigator and supervisor to the team of interviewers on the proposed study. Her education and experience in community-based programming well equips her for this role. Abdillahi Ganey, Program Coordinator and Adar Kahin, Community Health Worker Ganey and Kahin are integral to the SPEAK program at WellShare International. Ganey and Kahin have experience conducting qualitative data collection and providing family planning education to Somali men and women in the Twin Cities through outreach activities. They both have experience facilitating discussions about highly sensitive topics of reproductive health and family planning. Both are skilled at recruiting community members to participate in program activities, including for interviews. As members of the Somali community, Ganey and Kahin are bi-cultural and bi-lingual. They know how to appropriately phrase sensitive questions so that people feel comfortable answering them, and are able to speak to both community members and professionals about research activities with ease. Ganey and Kahin will serve as cultural advisors and interviewers on the proposed study. Additionally, they will assist with the translation of study materials (interview guide, informed consent forms, recruitment script, recruitment flyer, and summary of findings). Their expertise in relationship-building, recruitment, and navigating sensitive conversations and their knowledge of the Somali community and language make them very qualified to serve in this role. Consultant: Somali, Latino and Hmong Partnership for Health and Wellness (SoLaHmo) An estimated twenty audio-recorded interviews will be translated and transcribed by SoLaHmo. One hour of audio-recording will cost $195 ($3.25 per minute) to transcribe and translate from Somali to English. We anticipate having 20 hours of audio-recording and make the following assumptions about each interview: 60 minutes, two speakers (interviewer and study participant), standard turn-around time, verbatim transcription, foreign language translation, and some background noise. SoLaHmo uses the calculator tool provided by Verbalink to estimate translation costs: http://verbalink.com/services/transcription-services. The estimated total cost is $3900. Audio recorders. Two audio-recorders will be purchased and used to conduct the in-depth interviews. The SONY ICD PX333 Digital Voice Recorders will be purchased from Amazon at a cost of $48.00 per recorder. Photocopying/printing. An estimated 400 copies of study materials will be printed and/or photocopied. Costs are estimated to be $24 ($0.06 per copy). Postage and envelopes. Postage and envelopes will be purchased to mail a two-page summary of the research findings to up to 20 participants. Costs are estimated at $15. Participant Compensation. Each participant will receive a $40 gift card to compensate them for their time for a total cost of $800.

2 APDC Grant Budget Justification; Carie Cox