Form 0920-0572 Focus Group Screener - Revised

OMB: 0920-0572

Exp. Date 08/31/2021

Enhanced Message Development

MESSAGE FRAME TESTING focus groups

SCREENER

INTRODUCTION

Hello, my name is ____________, and I am calling on behalf of [FACILITY NAME]. We will be conducting focus groups to test ideas for health education messages. Each focus group will be led by a qualified researcher and will include about six participants who will be asked to share their opinions. Focus groups will be held at LOCATION on DATES for about 90 minutes. Those who participate will receive $75 as a thank you for taking part in the study. May I please speak with someone in your household ages 21 to 64 to see if they are qualified to participate in the study?

[REPEAT INTRO IF CALL WAS TRANSFERRED]

May I ask you a few questions to see if you are qualified to participate in the study?

Yes	[ ]	[CONTINUE]
No	[ ]	[THANK AND END]

Great! Before we begin, you should know that there are no right or wrong answers to the questions I’m going to ask you. You also don’t have to answer some questions if you don’t want to. If an answer leads to me ending the call, this doesn’t mean that there was anything wrong with the answer you provided.

SECTION 1: SCREENER QUESTIONS

READ: To begin, I have a couple questions to ensure that we speak to a mix of people.

	How old are you? [____________]
	RECORD RESPONSE 21 to 64	[ ]	> CONTINUE
	IF age is <21 or >64	[ ]	> TERMINATE

	What is your gender? DO NOT READ LIST
	Male	[ ]	> CONTINUE
	Female	[ ]
	Other: RECORD VERBATIM	[ ]

TERMINATION LANGUAGE: Thank you for taking the time to answer these questions. Unfortunately, based on the responses you provided, you do not meet the specifications we are looking for in this study. I appreciate your time and have a good morning/afternoon/evening.

	In the past five years (including now), have you, a member of your immediate family or a close friend worked for any of the following types of businesses? READ LIST AND RECORD BELOW
	An advertising or public relations firm?	[ ]	> TERMINATE IF YES TO ANY
	A marketing or market research firm or department?	[ ]
	A marketing or market research consultant?	[ ]
	Any kind of media company—like a TV or radio station or newspaper?	[ ]
	The federal government or a federal government agency?	[ ]
	A manufacturer or representative of alcohol (or alcoholic beverages)	[ ]

	When, if ever, was the last time you participated in a marketing research study, such as a consumer interview or a group discussion? DO NOT READ LIST
	Within the past six months	[ ]	> TERMINATE
	Over six months ago	[ ]	> CONTINUE
	Never	[ ]	> SKIP TO Q6

5. Please think about the market research studies you have participated in. What were the topics of the market research? RECORD BELOW

		1)		2)
		3)		4)

TERMINATE if anything related to ALCOHOL (e.g., alcohol attitudes)

SECTION 2: ALCOHOL BEHAVIOR¹

Note to recruitment: All participants MUST be excessive drinkers in order to qualify for the groups. See notes under Q7 and Q8.

	During the past 30 days, how many days did you have at least one drink of any alcoholic beverage such as beer, wine, a malt beverage, or liquor? PROBE TO DETERMINE NUMBER AND RECORD NUMBER AND RESPONSE OPTION BELOW Number of days: ________
	0 days	[ ]	> TERMINATE
	Valid response for number of days	[ ]	> CONTINUE
	Don’t know/Not sure	[ ]	> TERMINATE
	Refused	[ ]

	One drink is equivalent to a 12-ounce beer, a 5-ounce glass of wine, or a drink with one shot of liquor. During the past 30 days, on the days when you drank, about how many drinks did you drink on average? PROBE TO DETERMINE NUMBER AND RECORD NUMBER AND RESPONSE OPTION BELOW Number of drinks: ________
	Valid response for number of drinks	[ ]	> CALCULATE SCORE BELOW
	Don’t know/Not sure	[ ]	> TERMINATE
	Refused	[ ]

CALCULATE Q6/Q7 COMPOSITE SCORE²

[# days] multiplied by [# drinks] equals composite score

Q6: # days		Q7: # drinks		Composite Score
	X		=

Q6 & Q7 note to recruitment: If the composite score is greater than 60 for males or greater than 30 for females, the respondent is an excessive drinker and qualifies for the study.

	Considering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have [X] or more drinks on an occasion? PROBE TO DETERMINE NUMBER AND RECORD NUMBER AND RESPONSE OPTION BELOW [Note—if respondent is male, X = 5; if respondent is female, X = 4] Number: ________
	O times	[ ]	> CONTINUE
	1 or more times	[ ]
	Don’t know/Not sure	[ ]	> TERMINATE

Q8 note to recruitment: If males have had 5 or more drinks on one occasion within the last 30 days or females have had 4 or more drinks on one occasion within the last 30 days, the respondent is an excessive drinker and qualifies for the study.

Note to recruitment: Participants must qualify as an excessive drinker based on responses to Q6 & Q7 OR Q8.

9.To what extent have you thought about drinking less alcohol in the past 6 months?

Not at all	[ ]	> Unconcerned Drinker – SKIP TO Q11
Somewhat/occasionally	[ ]	> Noncommittal Drinker - CONTINUE TO Q10
Often	[ ]	> Concerned Drinker – SKIP TO Q11

10. You mentioned earlier that you had thought about drinking less in the past 6 months occasionally/somewhat…

Tell me some reasons why this is [DO NOT READ THE BELOW OUT LOUD, CHECK OFF ANY MENTIONED]:

Avoiding embarrassment	[ ]	Short Term Consequences
Doing something you’ll regret	[ ]
Short term trouble with the police (e.g., getting pulled over)	[ ]
Alcohol is expensive	[ ]
Long term health problems (e.g., heart disease, kidney disease, etc.)	[ ]	Long Term Consequences
Bad for health (e.g., more general things like calories, weight gain, etc.)	[ ]
Motor vehicle accidents	[ ]
Damages to personal relationships	[ ]

Note to recruitment: Participants must select more short-term consequences than long term consequences to qualify as a noncommittal drinker. If they do not select more short-term consequences than long term consequences, terminate.

SECTION 3: DEMOGRAPHIC QUESTIONS

PLEASE AIM TO RECRUIT MIX OF GENDER, RACE/ETHNICITIES, AND OTHER DEMOGRAPHICS
FOR EACH GROUP.

READ: Great. I have a couple last questions to ensure that we speak to a variety of people.

10. What best describes your ethnicity?

Hispanic or Latino	[ ]	> CONTINUE
Not Hispanic or Latino	[ ]

10. What best describes your race?

Value Label	[ ]	>CONTINUE
White or Caucasian	[ ]
Black or African-American	[ ]
Hispanic or Latino	[ ]
Asian	[ ]
Native American or Alaskan Native	[ ]
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	[ ]

10. What is the highest level of education you have completed?

Grade School	[ ]	>CONTINUE
Less than high school graduate/some high school	[ ]
High school graduate or completed GED	[ ]
Some college or technical school	[ ]
Received four-year college degree	[ ]
Some post-graduate studies	[ ]
Received advanced degree	[ ]
Other:____________	[ ]

10. Which of the following best describes what you are currently doing? Please mark all that apply.

Employed full-time	[ ]	>CONTINUE
Employed part-time	[ ]
Unemployed	[ ]
Homemaker	[ ]
Student	[ ]
Retired	[ ]
Disabled	[ ]
Other:__________	[ ]

10. What is your total household income?

Under $20,000/year	[ ]	>CONTINUE
$20,001 - $30,000/year	[ ]
$30,001 - $40,000/year	[ ]
$40,001 - $50,000/year	[ ]
$50,001 - $60,000/year	[ ]
$60,001 - $80,000/year	[ ]
$80,001 - $100,000/year	[ ]
Over $100,000/year	[ ]

10. What is your marital status?

Single	[ ]
Married	[ ]
In a relationship	[ ]
Divorced or Widowed	[ ]
Refused	[ ]

Segment	Participants fall in this category if…
Unconcerned Drinker	They respond “not at all” to Q9
Noncommittal Drinker	They respond “somewhat/occasionally” to Q9 AND they list more short term than long term consequences.
Concerned Drinker	They respond “often” to Q9

SECTION 4: INVITATION TO PARTICIPATE IN FOCUS GROUP

Thank you for your time today! We would like to invite you to participate in the focus group. The focus group will take place at LOCATION, and we will be testing ideas for health education messages. The interview will be audio-recorded for use in reporting. The interviews are being held on DATES and will last approximately 90 minutes. Your opinions are very important to us. You will be paid $75 as a token of our appreciation. People who have been invited to participate in this type of project have found the experience to be enjoyable and informative.
	Are you interested in participating in this study?
		Yes	[ ]	> CONTINUE
		No	[ ]	> TERMINATE

READ: Great! I am going to give you the address and contact information for the facility. Please make sure that you are there 15 minutes before the scheduled start time. Do you have a pen and paper?

GIVE LOCATION OF FACILITY

1 Questions 6 to 8 are adapted from the Alcohol Consumption series in the CDC’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey (BRFSS) Questionnaire, available at https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/questionnaires/pdf-ques/2017_BRFSS_Pub_Ques_508_tagged.pdf

2 The composite score is based on the calculated variable for calculated total number of alcoholic beverages consumed per month (variable _DRNKMO4) from the CDC’s Calculated Variables in the Data File of the 2017 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, available at https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/annual_data/2017/pdf/2017-calculated-variables-version4-508.pdf.

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