Face To Face Groups

 

"Susan is an excellent choice for those looking to investigate complex issue through focus groups. She worked diligently and thoughtfully with my organization from the beginning of the project, when we were still defining the scope and objectives of the research, till the end, to make sure we followed the best methods for focus group inquiry and reporting. She also went the extra mile to research our organizational history and the complicated topics the focus groups would tackle, just to make the research and report that much stronger." --Dina Hasiotis, Director of Education Policy, Common Good

 

Going To Participants

Unlike market research focus group firms, I go into the community to conduct face-to-face focus groups. To reduce barriers to attendance, groups are arranged during times and in locations that are most convenient for participants. I can advise you about arrangements for rooms, food, transportation, parking, translation, and child care. I will also make suggestions regarding the level of honorarium adequate to compensate participants for their time and contribution.

 

Advantage of Face To Face Groups

Face-to-face focus groups are fundamentally dependent on empathic listening: listening for feeling and meaning. Beyond the advantage of collecting fresh, thoughtful, and insightful information, live focus groups provide the opportunity to deeply understand, clarify, and get to the bottom of what participants are trying to tell us. Facial expressions, tone of voice, and the manner in which a participant delivers their message add lyrics to their words.  Capturing information through empathic listening provides the most authentic and accurate data.

 

An Example

Below is an example of a focus group study I conducted in which I provided food, transportation, child care, and translation through trained interpreters in order to bring focus groups into the community; in this case Russian, Vietnamese, and Latina/Latino communities. (See more examples of focus group work I've done.)

A Study of Team Based Primary Health Care for Multnomah County Health Department

• Study Participants: Community Health Center patients (Anglo, Latino/Latina, Russian, African American, Vietnamese)
• Use: Improve patient experience with team members and health outcomes
  

The Multnomah County (Oregon) community health clinics pride themselves on providing high quality, patient-centered care despite the fact that most patients pay little or nothing for their care. The majority are classified as "working poor," i.e. not poor enough to qualify for Medicaid but not insurable through an employer. Many are also recent immigrants. About a year after instituting health care teams county-wide, community health administrators decided to test the assumption that patients receive more effective and compassionate care when they consistently see a team of individuals that work together for their benefit. To do that, they hired me to conduct a series of ten focus groups with a total of 75 patients in five county locations. Quality improvement teams are using focus group findings to optimize health care teams in response to patient feedback.