Rapid Assessment: US-Based Migrant Farm Workers’ Underst

Department of Health and Human Services OMB Approved

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Control No. 0920-XXXX

Expiration Date XX/XX/XXXX

Rapid Assessment: US-Based Migrant Farm Workers’ Understanding and Use of Measures to Prevent Zika Transmission

Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Guide

Interviewer: Note taker:

Date:

Time Started: Time Ended:

Location:

Number of participants: Sex:

Introduction and Welcome to Participants

Thank you for joining us today for this group talk. My name is _________and my partner’s name is___________. We work for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Your comfort is really important to us so please feel free at any time to ask us questions or to let us know if you have any concerns. You have been asked to join because of your knowledge and experience working in the fields. We want to talk with you today about your understanding and concerns about a new disease that could affect our communities. We hope that what we talk about will help to improve health messages in your community. First, is everyone here 18 years or older? [If some are not adults: Thank you for coming but the law only lets us have people who are 18 or older in the group talk.]

Let’s go over what will happen today so you can decide whether you want to join the group talk.

[NOTE: Facilitator engages in Consent process (see attached consent form). Review the contents of the consent form, answer all questions from the group and then ask for consent to participate, to take notes, and to use the digital recorder. Wait for those who do not wish to participate to leave before proceeding with other questions. Record the number of hands raised for each question.]

Thank you for agreeing to join the group talk today. Now, let’s discuss how things will work.

• Expectations

  • Please know that there are no wrong answers. You are the experts today, and we are here to learn from your experience.

  • We are interested in hearing from everyone so please don’t be surprised if we ask you what you think.

  • You don’t have to answer any questions that you don’t want to answer.

  • Please give others the chance to talk and when they talk try not to interrupt them. It is perfectly fine to disagree but it is also really important to be respectful of others’ opinions.

  • You also play a role in protecting the privacy of the people in the group. Please do not talk about who was here or repeat the things that other people say during the group talk today.

  • If you have any questions about the things we talk about, please hold them until we finish. There is time set aside at the end when we will give more information and talk more about what we know about a new disease that could be affecting our community.

Do you have any questions about what we are doing here today or about anything that I have said so far? ____________________________________________________________________________________

Work and Living Environment

We’d like to start by asking some general questions about your work and where you live.

About what time does work begin and end each day?

[Probes: Are there some days when your work starts before the sun rises? Or doesn’t finish until after the sun sets? How often does that happen?]

On what type of a farm are you currently working?

[Probe: small, privately owned? larger farm cooperative, nursery?]

In the area where you work, are there places with standing water (“standing” means the water is not flowing, such as in open wells, irrigation ponds, leaking tap stands/faucets, abandoned tires, in land marshes, swamps)?

What about where you live—is there standing water in or around your home? (such as in tires, base of flower pots, toys in the yard, pet dishes)

For how long have you worked in farming?

What kind of housing do you live in?

[Probe: House, Apartment, Trailer, Other]

How many of you live in housing provided by your employer?

[Probe: For those who don’t live in housing provided by your employer, how many of you rent? How many of you own your home?]

Knowledge about Vector-borne Illnesses

We are now going to talk about illnesses caused by mosquitoes.

What have you heard about illnesses caused by the bite of a mosquito?

[Probe: Can you give an example of such an illness?]

How can people protect themselves from getting these illnesses?

From what you’ve seen with family and friends, do you think most people do these things to protect themselves? Why /why not?

General Knowledge about Zika

Have you heard about Zika? (HMTS 16c)*

If YES, please tell me what you have heard about Zika.

[Probe: What have you heard about how people get Zika?]

[Probe: What have you heard about how someone knows they have Zika? What are the signs/symptoms that they have it?]

How did you learn about Zika? OR Where do you get your information about Zika? (HMTS 69d)*

[Probe: From the media or people you know? (i.e., newspaper, radio, friends, family, employers, someone you know who got sick with Zika)?]

[NOTE TO INTERVIEWER]: If someone talks about sexual transmission, ask: How did you learn about people getting Zika from having sex with other people?

[NOTE TO INTERVIEWER]: If no one has talked about sexual transmission, ask: What have you heard about people getting Zika though having sex with someone who has it?

[Probe: What do you think about that? Do you agree/disagree? Why?]

What have you heard about what happens to a pregnant woman if she gets Zika?

Have your employers talked with you about Zika or given you any information about it?

Prevention of Zika

What have you heard about how to protect yourself and your family from Zika?

Describe the type of clothes that you wear to work. For example, do you wear long-sleeved shirts or short-sleeved shirts to work? Do you wear long pants?

Are mosquitoes a problem while you are working in the fields? What about at home?

[Probe: Are there more or less mosquitoes in the morning or at night?]

Do you or the people you work with wear bug spray to protect yourselves? In the fields? At home?

[Probe: Do any of you wear bug spray on a daily basis?]

IF YES: Where do you get the bug spray? [Do you buy it? Are you given it by your employer?]

IF NO: Why do you think some people don’t use bug spray?

Some of you are living in housing provided by your employer and some of you own or rent your home. Are there screens on the windows and doors where you live?

Are there holes in those screens? Is there working fan or air conditioning where you live?

[Probe: Do you think it’s possible to get screens or a fan or air conditioning? Why/why not?]

Have you heard anything about how to prevent getting Zika through sex? Please tell me about what you have heard.

Do you think couples would use condoms to protect themselves from Zika? Why/why not?

[Probe: Attitudes about condoms, condom availability, other concerns]

Access to Health Care

What are the biggest worries for you and other people who work in the fields?

[Probe: Are some of these worries about your health? Compared to other things you are worried about, how worried are you about your health?]

How worried do you think people really are about Zika? Why do you think that is?

[Probe: How worried are you about Zika? Do you think it’s dangerous?]

Where do you get information about health that you trust?

[Probe: radio, TV, health clinic, outreach worker, partner, family, friends, other]

What makes them a trusted source of health information? (HMTS 75d)*

Sexual Transmission of Zika

Scientists are learning all they can about Zika. They now know that people can get Zika through sex. That means that someone can get Zika by having sex with someone who has a Zika infection was infected in the past. We worry about this because Zika in pregnant women causes birth defects. The best way to prevent Zika spreading through sex is for people who live in or have traveled to an area with Zika to use condoms every time they have sex.

Do you think men would use condoms to protect their partners from Zika? Why/why not?

Probe: Would women have any concerns about having their partners wear a condom? Why is that?

Probe: Attitudes about condoms, condom availability, other concerns

Do you think that men would be willing to wear a condom to protect their baby?

Zika Information Dissemination

What do you think is most needed to protect farm workers and their loved ones from Zika?

What types of information would you like to have about Zika? What would be the best way to get information? (HMTS 80d)*

[Probe: Video? Educational pamphlets? Community/public meetings? Internet?]

[NOTE: interviewer share information with participant from the ‘General Information on Zika’ sheet, which is information previously cleared on the Zika web page, a cleared Webinar produced for the US Olympic Committee and Zika key messages dated 7/5/2016]

Are there any questions about the Zika information I just shared?

Thank you for your time and attention.

We have only 2 more questions.

How old are you?

In what country were you born?

Thank you for talking with us today.

__________

*Questions taken from a NCEZID- and OMB-approved public health practice (non-research) project entitled “Formative Evaluation of Zika Prevention Strategies among Pregnant Women and Community Leaders in Puerto Rico.”

Public reporting burden of this collection of information is estimated to average 60 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer, 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA 0920-XXXX