Understanding Physical Activity-Related Information Needs and Communication Preferences among
Parents, Children, and Adolescents:
Audience Research to Inform Physical Activity Guidelines Strategic Communication
ODPHP Generic Information Collection Request
OMB No. 0990-0281
Supporting Statement — Section B
Submitted December 21, 2017
Submitted to:
Sherrette Funn
Office of the Chief Information Officer
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Submitted by:
Frances Bevington
Strategic Communication and Public Affairs Advisor
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
ODPHP will conduct a total of 12 consumer focus groups in 4 greater metropolitan areas: Baltimore, MD; Chicago, IL; Jackson, MS; and Las Vegas, NV. These states are among those with the highest percentages of individuals who report no leisure-time physical activity.1 These states were also chosen for regional diversity (each is located in a different region, as defined by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services).2
ODPHP plans to conduct 12 in-person consumer focus groups (6-8 participants for each group, up to 88 participants total) in English. Specifically, ODPHP will conduct focus groups with each of the following audiences:
Parents of young children (ages 3 to 6) — 4 focus groups, up to 8 participants in each group
Children (ages 8 to 12) — 4 focus groups, up to 6 participants in each group
Adolescents (ages 13 to 16) — 4 focus groups, up to 8 participants in each group
ODPHP will recruit children and adolescents with low to medium levels of physical activity (i.e., whose parents indicate that their child gets at least 60 minutes of daily physical activity on fewer than 5 days per week). Likewise, ODPHP will recruit parents of young children who have low to medium physical activity levels, and who indicate that their young child also has low to medium physical activity levels (i.e., the parent gets at least 20 minutes of daily physical activity on fewer than 5 days per week, and indicates that their young child is not very active or needs motivation to be active).
ODPHP will use a professional recruitment firm to identify, screen, and recruit prospective participants for the consumer focus groups. The recruitment firm will use a recruitment email and phone screeners [see Attachments A, B, and C] to contact and screen potential participants from their databases. Focus group participants will be drawn from a convenience sample.
ODPHP will aim to recruit a consumer participant pool that will represent a mix of sociodemographic characteristics such as gender, race/ethnicity, education, and income.
ODPHP has developed consumer focus group moderator’s guides [see Attachments G, H, and I]. All 12 consumer focus groups will be moderated in English.
The consumer focus groups will address the following topics:
Beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions around physical activity
Factors influencing physical activity
Preferences for physical activity communication sources, products, and channels
Information that could motivate increased physical activity participation
During the child and adolescent focus groups, parents will remain onsite. This study has been reviewed and approved by an independent Institutional Review Board.
For consumer focus groups, ODPHP will partner with established recruitment firms that have expertise in maximizing response rates and accounting for potential non-response. To reduce participant burden, ODPHP will make every effort to plan focus groups at times and in locations convenient for participants (for example, accessible by public transportation). ODPHP will also offer incentives that offset costs associated with participating in the focus groups. Finally, in anticipation of non-response, ODPHP will over-recruit for consumer focus groups.
ODPHP staff with subject matter expertise in public affairs and physical activity have reviewed and approved the focus group protocols and all supporting materials included in this packet. Before the first consumer focus group, the research team will run a pilot test, then make any necessary minor adjustments to moderating techniques and timing. Following the first consumer focus groups, the research team will debrief and make minor adjustments to refine the moderating techniques.
Corinne Berry, MA, is Director of Research at CommunicateHealth, ODPHP’s research and communication contractor. Corinne has more than a decade of experience in communication consulting, mixed-methods research, public health education programs, and intervention design. Lizzie Barnett, ScD, is Senior Health Communication Researcher at CommunicateHealth. Lizzie is a Harvard-trained researcher and an experienced public health professional, specializing in qualitative and quantitative health promotion research. Together, Corinne and Lizzie are overseeing all research protocol development, data collection, and data analysis.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Jaya Mathur |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-21 |