Results Of Focus Groups Research Articles

A Patient-Centered Website (Within Reach) to Foster Informed Decision-making About Upper Extremity Vascularized Composite Allotransplantation: Development and Usability Study.

Upper extremity (UE) vascularized composite allotransplantation (VCA; hand transplantation) is a reconstructive treatment option for patients with UE loss. Approximately 37 UE VCAs have been performed in the United States to date; thus, little is known about long-term psychosocial outcomes and whether the benefits outweigh the risks. To make an informed treatment decision, patients must understand the procedure, risks, and potential benefits of UE VCA. However, few educational resources are publicly available providing unbiased, comprehensive information about UE VCA. This paper described the development of a neutral, and accessible, educational website supporting informed decision-making about UE VCA as a treatment option for individuals with UE amputations. Website content development was informed by 9 focus groups conducted with individuals with UE amputations at 3 study sites. After initial website development, we conducted usability testing to identify ways to improve navigability, design, content, comprehension, and cultural sensitivity. Participants were administered the After-Scenario Questionnaire to assess user performance after completing navigational tasks, System Usability Scale to measure the perceived usability of the website, and Net Promoter Score to measure user satisfaction. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed using rapid thematic analysis. A total of 44 individuals with UE amputations participated in focus groups (n=37, 84%) and usability testing (n=14, 32%). Most participants in the focus groups and usability testing were male (24/37, 65% and 11/14, 79%, respectively) and White (27/37, 73% and 9/14, 64%, respectively), had unilateral limb loss (22/37, 59% and 12/14, 86%, respectively), and had mean ages of 48 (SD 9.2) and 50 (SD 12.0) years, respectively. Focus group results are organized into accessibility, website design, website development, website tone and values, sitemap, terminology, images and videos, and tables and graphics. Usability testing revealed that participants had a positive impression of the website. The mean After-Scenario Questionnaire score of 1.3 to 2.3 across task scenarios indicated high satisfaction with website usability, the mean System Usability Scale score of 88.9 indicated user satisfaction with website usability, and the mean Net Promoter Score of 9.6 indicated that users were enthusiastic and would likely refer individuals to the website. The findings suggest that our educational website, Within Reach, provides neutral, patient-centered information and may be a useful resource about UE VCA for individuals with UE amputations, their families, and health care professionals. Health care professionals may inform UE VCA candidates about Within Reach to supplement current VCA education processes. Within Reach serves as a resource about treatment options for patients preparing for scheduled or recovering from traumatic UE amputations. Future research should assess whether Within Reach improves knowledge about UE VCA and enhances informed decision-making about UE VCA as a treatment option.

Managing Older Adults' Chronic Pain: Lower-Risk Interventions.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.

Online Education in the Perception of Hungarian Students – Results of Online Focus Groups

This paper we attempted to find an answer to the perceptions and experiences related to online education, with the help of the stories told, which can adequately indicate the epidemic's effects on the 15-29-year-old age group. We can reasonably assume that the global pandemic events of 2020, 2021 and partly 2022, which are associated with digital education, may have profound and long-lasting effects on young people as a social group. However, we so far have only a few scientific findings contributing to the assessment of the COVID-19 pandemic's long-term effects on young people.

Understanding how to build a social licence for using novel linked datasets for planning and research in Kent, Surrey and Sussex: results of deliberative focus groups.

Digital programmes in the newly created NHS integrated care boards (ICBs) in the United Kingdom mean that curation and linkage of anonymised patient data is underway in many areas for the first time. In Kent, Surrey and Sussex (KSS), in Southeast England, public health teams want to use these datasets to answer strategic population health questions, but public expectations around use of patient data are unknown. We aimed to engage with citizens of KSS to gather their views and expectations of data linkage and re-use, through deliberative discussions. We held five 3-hour deliberative focus groups with 79 citizens of KSS, presenting information about potential uses of data, safeguards, and mechanisms for public involvement in governance and decision making about datasets. After each presentation, participants discussed their views in facilitated small groups which were recorded, transcribed and analysed thematically. The focus groups generated 15 themes representing participants' views on the benefits, risks and values for safeguarding linked data. Participants largely supported use of patient data to improve health service efficiency and resource management, preventative services and out of hospital care, joined-up services and information flows. Most participants expressed concerns about data accuracy, breaches and hacking, and worried about commercial use of data. They suggested that transparency of data usage through audit trails and clear information about accountability, ensuring data re-use does not perpetuate stigma and discrimination, ongoing, inclusive and valued involvement of the public in dataset decision-making, and a commitment to building trust, would meet their expectations for responsible data use. Participants were largely favourable about the proposed uses of patient linked datasets but expected a commitment to transparency and public involvement. Findings were mapped to previous tenets of social license and can be used to inform ICB digital programme teams on how to proceed with use of linked datasets in a trustworthy and socially acceptable way.

User-relevant factors influencing the prosthesis use of persons with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation: A meta-synthesis of qualitative literature and focus group results.

Persons with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation are heavily reliant on an adequate set of components for their prosthesis. To improve the process of adjusting the specific prosthetic properties to the expectations of the prosthesis users, it is of importance to first identify which factors have an influence on prosthesis use. Therefore, we aimed to identify factors that influence prosthesis use in adults with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation. A qualitative meta-synthesis was conducted by searching five databases (last update January 20th 2022). Studies were considered eligible if they contained qualitative data about adult persons with a transfemoral amputation or knee-disarticulation with experience in using a prosthesis and focused on the users' opinions. All eligible studies were independently screened by two reviewers. The results sections of the included studies were entered in Atlas.ti software (v8) and coded using the framework approach. The quality of the included studies was assessed using the Critical Appraisal Skills Program (CASP) qualitative research checklist. Results of the meta-synthesis were validated with prosthesis users (n = 8) in a focus group. Out of 5757 articles, 14 studies were included. An overview of seven themes ('prosthesis related'; 'rehabilitation, costs and prosthetist'; 'mental'; 'physical'; 'social'; 'activities and participation' and 'walking') containing 84 factors was created. Ten factors were added during the focus group, resulting in an overview of 94 factors that may influence the prosthesis use of lower-limb prosthesis users. Participants would like more user-involvement from the rehabilitation team. The development of a patient decision aid could help this process in the future. The large number of factors demonstrates that there is a great variety between prosthesis users and the factors that influence their prosthesis use. Therefore, it is important to take individual preferences into account for the selection of a new prosthesis.

Parental Factors Affecting Pediatric Medication Management in Underserved Communities.

Medication errors and adverse drug events are common in the pediatric population. Limited English proficiency and low health literacy have been associated with decreased medication adherence, increased medication errors, and worse health outcomes. This study explores parental factors affecting medication management in underserved communities. Using qualitative methods, we identified factors believed to affect medication management among parents. We conducted focus group discussions between December 2019 and September 2020. We recruited parents and health care professionals from local community partners and a tertiary care children's hospital. Sessions were recorded and transcribed. Three investigators created the coding scheme. Two investigators independently coded each focus group and organized results into themes using thematic analysis. Eleven focus groups were held (n=45): 4 English-speaking parent groups (n=18), 3 Spanish-speaking parent groups (n=11), and 4 health care professional groups (n=16). We identified 4 main factors that could impact medication delivery: 1) limited health literacy among parents and feeling inadequate at medication administration (knowledge/skill gap), 2) poor communication between caregivers (regarding medication delivery, dosage, frequency, and purpose) and between providers (regarding what has been prescribed), 3) lack of pediatric medication education resources, and 4) personal attitudes and beliefs that influence one's medication-related decisions. The compounding effect of these factors - knowledge, communication, resource, and personal belief - may put families living in underserved communities at greater risk for medication errors and suboptimal health outcomes. These findings can be used to guide future interventions and may help optimize medication delivery for pediatric patients.

EMBRACING GENDER DIVERSITY: REIMAGINING HEALTH AND HEALTH EQUITY FOR TRANSGENDER OLDER ADULTS

Abstract This presentation will share results of in-depth focus groups exploring eight transgender older adults’ (TOAs) experiences of health and healthcare and related themes, explain weathering and factors contributing to health and healthcare disparities, and apply the Sexual and Gender Minority Health Disparities Research Framework to explore strategies to address individual, interpersonal, community, and societal factors to foster health and health equity. TOAs represent an underserved population at elevated risk for lower socioeconomic status, higher rates of disability and chronic illness, and poorer overall physical and mental health compared to their non-transgender LGBQ and cisgender peers. Due to their unique life experiences including difficult decisions about “coming out” and transitioning, lack of acceptance of being transgender, and physiological impacts of hormonal and surgical treatments, transgender individuals experience long-term chronic stress and accumulate health-related risks as they age, contributing to significant health disparities. Higher levels of illness, disability, and premature death among historically disadvantaged groups can be explained by weathering, the accumulated impact of social disadvantages and socio-political inequalities over the life course producing premature biological aging. A 2019 systematic review of LGBTQ aging literature found that only 10% of studies included trans-identified participants and few addressed the needs of transgender older adults. Understanding the lived experiences of TOAs including healthcare access and receipt, and psychological, social, and financial experiences across the life course, is crucial to understanding current disparities in health and healthcare, developing strategies to improve care and reduce inequities, and fostering health and health equity of transgender older adults.

Educator-Informed Development of a Mental Health Literacy Course for School Staff: Classroom Well-Being Information and Strategies for Educators (Classroom WISE).

Educators play a critical role in promoting mental health and well-being with their students. Educators also recognize that they lack knowledge and relevant learning opportunities that would allow them to feel competent in supporting student mental health. As such, educators require resources and training to allow them to develop skills in this area. The Mental Health Technology Transfer Center (MHTTC) Network partnered with the National Center for School Mental Health at the University of Maryland School of Medicine to develop Classroom Well-Being and Information for Educators (WISE), a free, three-part mental health literacy training package for educators and school staff that includes an online course, video library, and resource collection. The Classroom WISE curriculum focuses on promoting positive mental health in the classroom, as well as strategies for recognizing and responding to students experiencing mental health related distress. This paper describes the curriculum development process, including results of focus groups and key informant interviews with educators and school mental health experts. Adoption of Classroom WISE can help educators support student mental health and assist in ameliorating the youth mental health crisis.

Assessing Pain in Older Adults.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. This new group of articles provides practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.

Family, school, and crossroads

In this article, we analyse the language regimentation of multilingual repertoires and plurilingual practices of young people of Moroccan origin in three different areas of Spain – Barcelona, Galicia, and Madrid. By focusing on the family and the school as two highly interconnected settings (Heller, 2012) which have an impact on their socialisation trajectories and on their development of functional bi/multilingualism – and, thus, on their linguistic practices – we consider, on the one hand, how these young people position themselves regarding multilingualism and the conception of a local and transnational plurilingual speaker and, on the other, how they invest their linguistic repertoire in the transnational space or what Hornberger (2005) calls the ‘implementational spaces’ of multilingual practices. Following a sociolinguistic and discursive critical analysis of the data collected (ethnographic data, the results of several didactic activities, focus groups and interviews), the results point out how family and school discourses surrounding multilingualism contribute to maintaining a situation of multilingualism, which includes both the heritage languages and the institutional and national languages and varieties. Moreover, the results show the ways these plurilingual youth navigate this multilingualism but also how they reconstruct it by deploying hybrid and creative practices.

The Carrot or the Stick? Stakeholder Support for Mandatory Regulations towards a Circular Fashion System

In recent years, fast fashion has boosted global production and consumption, decreasing the lifespans of garments and increasing volumes of discarded textiles which are neither reusable or recyclable. Consequently, multiple visions and strategies regarding circular fashion have been developed, addressing a broad range of features pertaining to a potential circular fashion system. Most remain vague about concrete ambitions and policy measures. However, the design of transition pathways involves a good understanding of the policy instruments among stakeholders that operate in a globalized industry with complex value chains. In this study, we investigate stakeholder support for policy instruments that could contribute towards a circular and sustainable fashion system. We identify 30 aspects of a circular fashion system, based on a screening of visions and strategies published by supranational bodies, NGOs, and sectoral organizations. Then, we present survey and focus group results, displaying broad stakeholder support for government intervention, particularly mandatory regulations. A plausible explanation is the prisoner’s dilemma most stakeholders face regarding global value chains, indicating the need for a more level playing field. We identify and address the differences between stakeholder preferences and conclude that mandatory regulations appear to be a necessary but not a sufficient condition for a transition towards a circular fashion system.

Role of Mosque Communities in Supporting Muslims with Mental Illness: Results of CBPR-oriented Focus Groups in the Bay Area, California.

Objective The purpose of this study was to explore perspectives of Muslims residing in the Bay Area, California on the role of the mosque community in supporting community members' mental health needs and barriers to mental health care for members who experience mental health challenges. Methods This study employed a CBPR-focused qualitative approach in the form of content analysis of three focus group discussions organized and conducted with the help of a Community Advisory Board made up of members of the Muslim Community Association. Results Two major themes were identified upon examination of the data: services needed in the mosque community and barriers to addressing mental health issues in the mosque community. Specifically, participants reported wanting support groups within the mosque space, mosque-based activities, virtual support, community social workers, and family-oriented services. Barriers reported included community stigma, lack of cultural awareness of race-ethnic minorities within the community, attribution of mental illness to lack of faith or supernatural causes, and specific barriers unique to vulnerable/special subgroups within the community. Conclusion These findings highlight the need for developing mental health-related services and social support initiatives within the mosque space, specifically for those Muslim Americans living in the Bay Area in California. Furthermore, special attention needs to be placed on the barriers to accessing these services as identified by the community members.

An analysis of crime reporting (and audience perceptions of it) in selected South African media

The study on which this article was based was part of an international news study,conducted in 10 countries (Australia, China, Chile, Germany, India, Israel, Jordan, Russia,South Africa and the USA). In this article, the way in which crime as a topic is dealt within selected news media is explored. Focus group results were also analysed to establishhow people perceive crime reporting. Shoemaker’s theory on news values is applied toanalyse media content and results from focus groups. From the analysis, it emergedthat the media perform a surveillance function on behalf of their audiences and thatthe news media apply regular news values to decide on the reporting and presentationof news items dealing with crime events. Media audiences make practical use ofinformation provided by the media on crime events to take precautions or to becomeaware of dangerous situations and people. Shoemaker’s theory also provides a valuableframework according to which news content can be analysed and understood.The data used in this study was collected as part of the What’s News? Project, based atthe S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NewYork, USA, and is part of a larger study of the definition of news in ten countries. Theprincipal investigators are Dr Pamela J. Shoemaker (Syracuse University) and Dr AkibaCohen (Tel Aviv University, Israel). Additional researchers participated in the study fromthe following countries: Australia, China, Chile, India, Israel, Germany, Jordan, Russia,South Africa and the United States. Syracuse University acknowledges the support ofthe John Ben Snow Foundation.

Youth Perspectives on Menthol Sales Restrictions in Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota.

Although menthol cigarettes are a starter product for youth, menthol was exempted from the 2009 Tobacco Control Act, which banned all other characterizing flavors. Minneapolis and Duluth, Minnesota, implemented menthol tobacco sales restrictions in 2018 to advance health equity for youth, African American, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (LGBTQ), and other communities adversely affected by menthol. This evaluation assesses the policy impact on youth access to menthol tobacco, exposure to menthol advertising, and tobacco use. A core group of youth aged 14 to 17 years (n = 30) was recruited from Minneapolis and Duluth to gather data through photo voice and peer interviews 2 months before and after policy implementation. This evaluation shares the results of focus groups with these core youth where they reflected on what they observed in the community and heard from peers. The core youth identified and categorized emergent themes using the evaluation questions. Following the focus groups, the evaluation staff used these preliminary themes and coded remaining transcripts. The core youth had mixed reactions to the impact of policies on access and use because many tobacco users in their age group obtain tobacco informally through peers, family members, and online. They observed decreases in retail advertising of menthol cigarettes, although many felt e-cigarettes and online advertising were more significant issues for their age group. Findings show a need for increased education and more comprehensive policy approaches, including addressing use of flavored e-cigarettes, online tobacco sales, and informal access, making youth access to tobacco more difficult.

The Sacra Infermeria—a focus group evaluation of an augmented reality cultural heritage experience

ABSTRACT The digital representation of our past has long been an important tool in the interpretation of cultural heritage in museums. The recent rise in the use of Augmented Reality (AR) has seen various approaches to adding dynamic information to existent artefacts. The challenge is even greater when uncertainty further complexifies the represented history. This paper presents a critical analysis of an AR installation in the Sacra Infermeria museum in Valletta, Malta. After a description of the AR configuration of the installation, we present a thematic analysis carried out from a multidisciplinary focus group of 11 researchers in the field of Interactive Digital Narratives (IDN), from three perspectives: the technological implementation of the AR experience, the historical accuracy, gamification and the influence of social media-centred design, and the representation of the complexity arising from the uncertainty of history. In the light of the results of the multidisciplinary focus group, we provide a list of recommendations and heuristics at the end of the article.

A mixed methodological examination of older adults’ psychological reactance toward caregiving messages from their adult children

ABSTRACT This study extends psychological reactance theory (PRT) to family caregiving by exploring autonomy-threatening messages adult child caregivers use to gain compliance from older adult parents. Results of focus groups and interviews with older adult care recipients (Study One) and caregivers (Study Two) corroborated three types of autonomy-threatening messages, which were used to test PRT (Study Three). Older adults (N = 281) were randomly assigned a caregiving message and answered reactance-related survey questions. Results supported serial mediation: relative to an autonomy-supporting message, two types of autonomy-threatening messages (i.e., offering directives, expressing doubt) triggered greater freedom threat, which amplified reactance. In turn, greater reactance elicited more negative attitudes, which was linked to lower behavioral intention. Results offer implications for older adults’ experience of reactance and family caregiving communication.

Willingness to pay for automated taxis: a stated choice experiment to measure the impact of in-vehicle features and customer reviews

This study aims to contribute to the limited empirical evidence on Automated Taxis (ATs) by analysing the in-vehicle features that ATs ought to have to satisfy taxi passengers requests that in a Normal Taxi (NT) are dealt with a direct communication between the passenger and the driver. Based on the results of focus groups and several pilots, two in-vehicle features are tested: change of destination and chat with an operator during the trip. The paper also contributes to the body of literature on the impact of social influence on the adoption of innovation by testing the impact of consumer reviews other than the typical measure of adoption and injunctive norms. A Stated Choice (SC) experiment was built putting particular effort in the definition and presentation of the new attributes tested. The study was applied in China among current users of NTs (i.e. with the driver). Hybrid choice models were estimated and a resampling technique was used to test the model sensitivity to the sample gathered. Results show that on average, Chinese taxi users are willing to pay 0.35 Euros to have the option to ‘change the destination’ and 0.78 Euros to be able to ‘chat with an operator’ inside the AT. Among the social influence attributes, the reviews from previous customers confirmed to be the most effective measure, users are willing to pay 1.58 Euros more to use a taxi that got good reviews for long trips (≥ 30 min) and 0.57 Euros for shorter trips. The Willingness to Pay (WTP) estimated are all significant at more than 95% and have a narrow confidence intervals.

DISCURSIVE ANALYSIS OF RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR VALUES BALANCE RATIO IN MODERN KAZAKHSTAN

Based on the results obtained from sociological research, the authors of this article analyzed the perception of religious and secular values by the inhabitants of modern Kazakhstan. The specificity of value orientations of Kazakhstani society was comprehended in the context of mutual influence of religious and secular content. The authors examined in detail the phenomenon of secularism, a secular state and its legal principles. Secularism is defined as a prerequisite for the possibility of freedom of choice of a person and guarantees creation of conditions for realization of religious needs in a polyconfessional society. In their study, the authors reveal the concept of value foundation of society, its determining factor in human behavior. The comparison of basic values is made through the prism of the influence of the ratio of the balance of religious and secular values on the formation of the public consciousness of the inhabitants of modern Kazakhstan. The article provides an analysis of the results of in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted among representatives of the creative intelligentsia and youth. Questions asked to respondents in the course of these studies were devoted to understanding the essence and characteristics of secular and religious values, their functions, social and individual significance, personal attitude to secular and religious values.

"You can't touch, you can't bond": Exploring COVID-19 pandemic impacts on rheumatoid arthritis patient goals and communication with clinicians.

"You can't touch, you can't bond": Exploring COVID-19 pandemic impacts on rheumatoid arthritis patient goals and communication with clinicians.

Interrupting Biases in the Experience and Management of Pain.

This article is part of a series, Supporting Family Caregivers: No Longer Home Alone, published in collaboration with the AARP Public Policy Institute. Results of focus groups, conducted as part of the AARP Public Policy Institute's No Longer Home Alone video project, supported evidence that family caregivers aren't given the information they need to manage the complex care regimens of family members. This series of articles and accompanying videos aims to help nurses provide caregivers with the tools they need to manage their family member's health care at home. The articles in this new installment of the series provide practical information nurses can share with family caregivers of persons living with pain. To use this series, nurses should read the articles first, so they understand how best to help family caregivers. Then they can refer caregivers to the informational tear sheet-Information for Family Caregivers-and instructional videos, encouraging them to ask questions. For additional information, see Resources for Nurses.