Successful parent researchers in child care project

A study involving local parents in research successfully obtained the views of a socially disadvantaged group. Child care decisions of two contrasting social groups were compared. One inner city deprived and one suburban mother became research associates and interviewed their peers, obtaining 75% and 70% agreement with a research health visitor on a questionnaire with an average Cohen's Kappa statistic of 0.52. In overcoming her difficulties the deprived mother demonstrated that some of the most disadvantaged parents can successfully be accessed in spite of lifestyle difficulties. These methods could be refined to improve the quality of research participation in any community.