Strategies for conducting health research with Latinos during times of political incivility

AIM: The current US political climate towards immigrants introduces new challenges for researchers already struggling to recruit and retain Latino participants in health research. The purpose of this work is to illuminate how current political incivility further deters participation by Latinos in research and present strategies to overcome these challenges. DESIGN/METHODS: In this discursive piece, we describe how political incivility serves as a proxy for discrimination, discusses the impact of political incivility on health and health outcomes and explores existing knowledge of recruitment and retention strategies in the light of a current, adversely impacted health study with Latinos during the 2016 election season. RESULTS: Future work should consider the critical contextual factors (including political incivility) faced by Latinos in the US, while continuing to engage in established research strategies such as increasing trust, developing strong community presence, reducing risks (real and perceived) and being thoughtful in research design and implementation.