Form #3 Form #3 Focus Group Guide for Parent's of children

Form Approved
OMB No. 0935-XXXX
Exp. Date XX/XX/20XX

Appendix C
Parent’s Focus Group Questions
Theme I: Knowledge
Share with me what you call this {Facilitator holds up a bottle of Children’s Tylenol®}.
Different people call this medicine different names. Are there other names that you call
this medicine?
Describe when you may give it to your child.
Tell us the story of how you give it to your child or children. [Probe: Where do you get
this medicine? What was it for?]
What do you know about different strengths of this medicine? What is the best way to tell
the strength of the medicine?
Share with us how you know how much to give your child and how often.
Can you describe any side effects from this medicine? [Probe: Can it harm your kidneys
or your liver?]
What are a few differences between this medicine and medicine that a doctor prescribes,
like antibiotics?
Let’s talk about medicine prescribed by the doctor. Tell how you know if a prescription
has acetaminophen or Tylenol® in it. [Use a prescription bottle with APAP on the label]
What do you know about giving your child Tylenol® and a prescription medicine at the
same time?
Theme II: Beliefs about Benefits and Risks
What I would like to hear about is does this medicine work for your child/children when
you give it to them? Explain to me how you know if it works. [Probes: How long do you
think it takes to work?]
I would like for you to talk to each other about how strong you think this medicine is.
[Probe: Do you think this medicine is safe to use?]
If you gave your child too much, could it make them sick or hurt them? How important is
that concern?
How much of this medicine would you have to give your child to cause harm? Why do
you think this amount would cause harm? [Probe: Is this more than the dose
recommended on the label? What helps you to know when it is too much?]
Theme III: Patterns and Frequency of Use
Think about the times you have given this medication to your child. Tell me about that.
[Probes: How much do you give him/her? How often? Do you give it to them with other
medicines?]
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I’m wondering if you keep this at your home? [Probes: Where do you keep it? How do
you store it? Do you carry it with you? Do you share it with other people?]
Share with me what you do differently or the same with this medication compared to
other medications such as antibiotics that a doctor has prescribed. [Probes: How much?
How often? Do you give it to them with other medications? Where do you keep it? How
do you store it? Do you carry it with you? Do you share it with other people?]
Theme IV: Sources of Information
Tell me how did you learn about this medicine.
Let’s talk about ads on TV. Can anyone think of other places they heard about this
medicine?
Think of a situation when you ever talked to your child’s doctor about this medicine.
Describe that to me.{Probe: a pharmacist; any other healthcare worker, nurse, case
worker}
Theme V: Related Experiences
Have you ever heard about someone giving their child too much of this medicine or
children having a problem from taking this medicine? Tell us that story. What about older
children or teenagers who may take too much on purpose? Have you done anything
different after hearing or knowing about that?
Theme VI: Labeling and Packaging
{Facilitator to distribute a variety of over-the-counter acetaminophen packaging and
bottles}
Now, I would like for you to look at these bottles and packages and labels.[Packages of
Children’s Tylenol, several store brand children’s acetaminophen, and packages that use
NON-ASPIRIN]
First, tell me about the packages. Do you use the package to get information about the medicine?
Can you see it? What would you change about that? If you use a liquid form of acetaminophen,
how do you measure the dose for your child; what device do you use, b) do you keep different
concentrations at home for your children? One for younger children and one for older?

If you could tell from this package that the product contained Tylenol [or other acetaminophen
containing drug], would this change what you think about this medicine? Describe what you
might do.
{Probe 1-Would you give this to your child any differently? If so, how? (Would you give a
different/lesser dose?)}
{Probe 2 -Would you give your child other drugs for pain/fever relief instead? (If so, which
ones?)}
What if this Children’s Tylenol [or other acetaminophen containing drug] was labeled where
you could easily see a warning that it causes a risk of liver damage, would this change how you
would use it for your child? Describe how you might act.

{Probe 1 - Would you change the way you to give it to your child? If so, how? (Would
you give your child a different dose?)}
{Probe 2 - Would you give your child another drug for pain relief/fever instead? (If so,
which ones?)}
What would you do if the strength of Children’s Tylenol [or other acetaminophen containing
drug] was made weaker? Would you give your child a greater dose? Would you turn to other
drugs for your child’s pain/fever relief? (If so, which ones?)

Are there any other comments that you would like to share with us today.
Thank you for your participation.