Methodological Aspects of Focus Groups in Health Research: Results of Qualitative Interviews With Focus Group Moderators

Research output: Contribution to journalEditorial (Lead article)Contributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Anja P. Tausch - , Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Author)
  • Natalja Menold - , Leibniz Institute for the Social Sciences (Author)

Abstract

Although focus groups are commonly used in health research to explore the perspectives of patients or health care professionals, few studies consider methodological aspects in this specific context. For this reason, we interviewed nine researchers who had conducted focus groups in the context of a project devoted to the development of an electronic personal health record. We performed qualitative content analysis on the interview data relating to recruitment, communication between the focus group participants, and appraisal of the focus group method. The interview data revealed aspects of the focus group method that are particularly relevant for health research and that should be considered in that context. They include, for example, the preferability of face-to-face recruitment, the necessity to allow participants in patient groups sufficient time to introduce themselves, and the use of methods such as participant-generated cards and prioritization.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Number of pages12
Journal Global qualitative nursing research : GQNR
Volume3
Publication statusPublished - 1 Feb 2016
Peer-reviewedYes
Externally publishedYes

External IDs

PubMed 28462326
Core 87823117
Scopus 85015484087
ORCID /0000-0003-1106-474X/work/151436708

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

Keywords

  • Cancer, Content analysis, Electronic personal health record, Focus groups, Health care administration, Qualitative, Research, Technology