0920-1154 Generic Clearance for CDC/ATSDR Formative Research and Tool Development
Expiration: 01/31/2020
Persuasive Communication about Risks from and Responses to Zika:
Focus Groups
Supporting Statement Part B
Version 1
Date : September 28, 2017
B. STATISTICAL METHODS
Universe and Respondent Selection
Potential Respondents: Participants in the focus groups will be members of the public, including, but not limited to women of child-bearing age; equal representation will be sought from African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian population groups.
Sample: Eight demographically diverse public focus groups will be convened with the goal of 7-9 participants each. Focus groups will take place in four US locations (Florida, Texas, New York, and Louisiana) that incorporate differences in Zika threat, outbreak response, and geography. Two rounds of questioning are anticipated: (1) Zika control in the context of social norms, belief systems, diverse values regarding sexual and reproductive decision-making, gender, childbearing, and dis/ability; (2) values regarding the control of Zika through environmental means (i.e., mass spraying, release of GMO mosquitoes). A total of 8 focus groups will be broken down into 4 groups each of women of child-bearing age (18-49) and 4 groups of men and women with equal representation from African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian population groups.
Procedures for Collecting Information
Recruitment Process: Focus group participants will be recruited from the member/client base of grassroots organizations that serve priority research subject groups (i.e., men, women, African Americans/Hispanics/Caucasians). The research team will conduct outreach to leaders of faith-based organizations (FBOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs), as identified from publicly available lists of local community groups or as recommended by local health departments, which have pre-standing relationships with community leaders. These local leaders will be asked to disseminate pre-prepared information regarding the study to their members. Members will then be invited to contact the study team for further details via email, phone, and/or interactive website. Following this initial contact, all potential participants will be sent the complete recruitment letter prior to attending the focus group. Recruitment will end once the project team has completed focus groups with the target number of participants. Up to 3 recruitment contacts (via phone and/or email) will be made, but any prospective participant that declines to participate will not be sent any additional messages. The recruitment email and consent script for the focus groups are attached (Attachments D and E).
Use of Vignettes: One set of vignettes will be designed to encourage focus group participants to consider facets of the sociocultural milieu surrounding the ongoing Zika virus outbreak; specifically, the conditions that could potentially dissuade women at risk of infection from acting on public health guidance regarding safe sex and pregnancy. These vignettes will also be used to deconstruct the decision-making dilemmas that arise when reproductive guidance in the context of Zika conflicts with existing personal and communal norms around sex, contraception, gender, childbirth, birth defects, and/or disabilities. A second set of vignettes will be designed to elicit participant reactions to environmental strategies for countering the Zika outbreak; specifically, widespread application of mosquito control chemicals. These vignettes will be designed to help identify social, cultural, and political factors that may inform the public’s willingness to refuse or consent to mass aerial spraying and/or other potentially controversial forms of vector control. The focus group vignettes instrument is attached (Attachment G).
Analysis: The research team will review interview notes and transcripts and will look for similarities and differences across content that may indicate relevant themes. After review of interviews and notes, a codebook will be developed by the research team and piloted by multiple coders on two transcripts. After adjustment of the codebook and any additional training of coders, NVivo qualitative software will be used to recode pilot transcripts and to code remaining transcripts. Results generated from focus groups will be summarized into a set of findings and potential recommendations.
Methods to Maximize Response
Payment: Participants will be provided a $75 token of appreciation as compensation for three hours of participation in the in-person focus groups, and may be used to cover travel/transit to and from the focus group site, parking, and/or childcare expenses.
Follow-up: Using trusted community members to disseminate pre-prepared information regarding the study to their members should improve our ability to ensure responses from the community and facilitate follow-up efforts. After community members contact the research team, additional information will be sent to respondents. If respondents do not respond further, up to 3 attempts will be made to re-establish contact.
Testing of Procedures
We conducted pilot testing of each of the focus group vignettes with four respondents who are not familiar with scientific literature about Zika to ensure that focus group vignettes were appropriately targeted and constructed. Minor revisions were made to the data collection instrument based on the feedback from the pilot testing
Contacts for Statistical Aspects and Data Collection
E. E. McGinty, Assistant Professor, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | malanoski |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-22 |