Fish Consumption Focus Group

Fish Consumption Focus Groups

Participant Screener

Recruiting Goals:

• Nine of the groups will be with women who are either pregnant or who have a child/children less than five years old. There should be a mix of pregnant and women with small children, with at least 4 pregnant women per group.

• Three of the groups will be with women ages 18 to 45 who have never been pregnant and do not have children under age five at home, but who are considering becoming pregnant in the next few years.

• Half of the groups will be with women who have some college or higher and half with women who have lower levels of education.

• All women will have eaten fish at least once in the past year.

• Within these groups there will be a mix of ages and races/ethnicities.

Study Protocol:

• Each group will last approximately 2 hours (including time needed for signing in before the group starts and signing out after the group ends).

• Groups will be audio- and video-taped. Participant consent will be obtained.

• The identity of the participants will remain confidential.

• Groups will be observed by staff from the Food and Drug Administration.

• Participants do not have to answer any questions that they do not want to, but are encouraged to participate.

Group Composition and Location:

	Location	Pregnant/parents of children<5 or Women age (18-45) who may become pregnant	Level of Education
Group I	Washington, DC	Pregnant/children	Higher
Group II	Washington, DC	Not pregnant/no small children	Lower
Group III	Northeast	Pregnant/children	Lower
Group IV	Northeast	Not pregnant/no small children	Higher
Group V	Gulf region	Pregnant/children	Higher
Group VI	Gulf region	Not pregnant/no small children	Lower
Group VII	Mid-West (Inland)	Pregnant/children	Higher
Group VIII	Mid-West (Inland)	Pregnant/children	Lower
Group IX	Great Lakes region	Pregnant/children	Lower
Group X	Great Lakes region	Pregnant/children	Higher
Group XI	West coast	Pregnant/children	Higher
Group XII	West coast	Pregnant/children	Lower

PARTICIPANT SCREENER SCRIPT

Hello Mr./Ms. __________________________________, my name is __________________ and I'm calling about a research study in your area. We are recruiting for an upcoming focus group in which participants will be asked to share their thoughts and feelings related to your food choices.

Would you mind answering a few questions?

Q1. Determine gender

• Male  eliminate [thank respondent politely, ask to speak with a woman in the household]

• Female

Q2. I am going to read some age categories, could you please tell me in which category your age falls?

• Under 18 years old  eliminate [thank respondent politely, ask to speak with someone at least 18 years old]

• 18-25  continue

• 26-35  continue

• 36-45  continue

• 46-and over  eliminate

[Please recruit diverse age groups.]

Q3. Have you eaten any fish or shellfish (seafood), including tuna fish, fish sticks, or shrimp, in the past year?

• Yes

• No eliminate [thank respondent politely]

Q4. Do you or someone from your immediate family work for any of the following:

• A Market Research Firm  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

• The Food and Drug Administration,

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency,

or State or local food agency  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

• Food Industry or Food Retailer  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

• A Public Health Organization  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

Q5. Have you participated in a focus group within the past year?

[Interviewer: participation in telephone or internet surveys is allowed]

• Yes  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

• No

Q6. How many children under age 5 are in your household?

• 1 or more  put in pregnant/child group

• None

Q7. Are you currently pregnant?

• Yes  put in pregnant/child group GO TO Q8

• No  SKIP Q8

Q8. What is your due date? ______

In order to participate, you will need to bring or fax a note from your doctor specifying your due date or bring a recent sonogram with a date on it. Will you be able to do this?

• Yes  put in pregnant/child group

• No  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

[If no children under 5 or not pregnant then put in never/not recently pregnant group.]

Q9. Do you plan on becoming pregnant in the next few years?

• Yes  put in non-pregnant/no young child group

• No  eliminate [thank respondent politely]

Q10. What is the highest level of education that you have completed? (Recruit a mix – but we expect that education will be correlated with high/low awareness, such that the low aware groups will tend to have lower education levels than the high awareness groups.)

• Less than high school  recruit to lower education group

• High school graduate or GED  recruit to lower education group

• Technical/vocational school  recruit to lower education group

• Community college  recruit to lower education group

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• Some college (1-3 years  recruit to higher education group

towards Bachelor’s degree)

• College (Bachelor’s degree)  recruit to higher education group

• Advanced degree  recruit to higher education group

(postgraduate degree)

Q11. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin?

• Yes

• No

Q12. What is your race? I am going to read several categories of race. You may choose one or more categories. Are you?

• White

• Black or African American

• Asian

• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Other

Q13. I am going to read some income categories; could you classify your annual household income to one of these categories?

• Less than $30,000 per year

• $30,000 to less than $60,000 per year

• $60,000 to less than $80,000 per year

• $80,000 and over per year

Q14. How many people are in your household? ______________

Thank you for answering these questions. We would like to invite you to participate in a focus group with about eight other participants to discuss issues relating to eating habits and health. The discussion will last approximately two hours. The discussion will be video- and audio-taped, and also observed by researchers. Your participation and everything you say during the discussion will remain confidential and your personal identifying information will not be included in any reports. At the conclusion of the focus group, you will receive [$120 pregnant/small children groups or $85 for other women groups] cash/check. Additionally, food and beverages will be provided before the group discussion starts. Are you interested in participating in this focus group?

• Yes

• No  [Thank the person for his/her time]

I’m glad that you will be able to join us! The focus group will take place on (Day), (Date), at [6:00 or 8:00 p.m.] at [site location].

Will you be available to participate at this time?

• Yes

• No  [Thank the person for his/her time]

I would like to send you a confirmation letter and directions to the facility. In order to do so, could you please tell me your mailing address (or fax number, e-mail address) and a phone number where you can be reached:

Name:______________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________

City:_______________________ State:_________ Zip:______________

Phone:_______________________

Email:_______________________

Date of focus group:__________________ Time:________________

We are only inviting a few people, so it is very important that you notify us as soon as possible if for some reason you are unable to attend. Please call [recruiter] at [telephone number] if this should happen. We look forward to seeing you on [date] at [time]. If you use reading glasses, please bring them with you to the focus group.