Example Focus Group HSB

Moderator’s Guide

HRSA Focus Group with Consumers Willing to Consider Organ Donation

Introduction (10 minutes)

Thank you for coming. My name is _____________, and I’ll be moderating our discussion today. I really appreciate the time that each of you is taking to attend this group, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Before we begin, I would like to start with some ground rules for our discussion today:

• First, did everyone understand the informed consent form? Do you have any questions about this form? [Answer all questions, and then proceed]

• The purpose of our discussion is to hear your opinions. I want to hear everything you have to say, both positive and negative. There are no right or wrong answers. It’s as important for me to know if there’s something you don’t understand or like as it is for me to hear about what you do know and like.

• Everyone’s participation today is important. Part of my job as moderator is to make sure we get a chance to hear from everyone. So, at times, I may call on you, or ask you to shorten your remarks so someone else has the chance to speak.

• I have a set of questions that I need to get through. There may be times when I need to move us on to another topic, or to focus us on specific topics, so that we end on time. If we have time, we can revisit some of these issues if you wish.

• This is a group discussion, so you don’t need to wait for me to call on you to speak. Please feel free to respond directly to other people’s thoughts and ideas. However, please speak only one person at a time, and address your comments to the entire group.

• If you have a cell phone with you, please turn it off or silence the ringer. Thanks.

• As a reminder, this discussion is being audio recorded. That will help me to make sure that I accurately reflect what everyone says here tonight when I write my report. However, nothing that you say will be attributed to you by name, and we destroy the tapes once our report is finalized. I also want to remind you that there are other people observing this discussion. These other observers are also taking notes and will help to make sure that we cover all the information we need to cover today.

• Does anyone have any questions about these ground rules before we get started?

Great. We really appreciate your input.

To get started, why don’t we start by introducing ourselves to one another? Please tell us your first name and how long you have lived in this area. Let’s start with ______________.

Explanation and Warm-Up (15 minutes)

The main purpose of this group is to discuss organ donation. All of you here support organ donation, and none of you are registered organ donors. We’re not here to try to change that, and I’m not going to ask you to sign up at the end of our discussion. I’m only interested in your opinions.

What I want to do is to better understand how you react to messages about organ donation. All of us—when we see or hear or read messages—react to them in different ways. Some of the reactions are things that we notice—we laugh, or smile, or turn our heads. Some of the ways we react we may not notice unless we are paying very close attention—our heart rate might change or we start thinking about something that reminds us of what we see.

What I want us to spend most of our time today doing is paying very close attention to how we react to things—in this case, to messages on organ donation. We’re going to spend pretty much the entire time reacting to such messages.

But, before we do that, I want to do a practice of sorts. I’m going to show you some different messages, and I want you to react to them. The most important thing you can do is react as honestly as you can. Almost always, the very first reaction you have is the one that best represents what you are feeling—so don’t think about it too much!

The first ad is from a magazine. I’m going to pass it out upside down—no peeking until I say so! I’m also going to pass out a rating card with some words and lines on it. After you’ve seen each ad, make a mark on each line to indicate your reaction. [Show cards to explain how they work.]

Remember, for right now, I’m interested just in your initial reactions.

1. Okay, here is the first one: [show ad #1]

Dull	---------------X-----------------------------------------------	Interesting
For someone else	---------------------------------------------------X-----------	For me
Skim	-----------------------X---------------------------------------	Review in depth
Makes me sad	-----------------------X---------------------------------------	Makes me happy

2. Great, let’s try again: [show ad #2]

Dull	---------------X-----------------------------------------------	Interesting
For someone else	---------------------------------------------------X-----------	For me
Skim	-----------------------X---------------------------------------	Review in depth
Makes me sad	-----------------------X---------------------------------------	Makes me happy

Terrific, we’ll use some rating systems like this later on. Now I want to try some exercises where you write down what you are thinking. Let’s listen to a radio ad now. On this card I am going to hand out, write two or three words to describe how you are feeling. Remember, your first reaction is usually the best one:

3. This part got my attention: ______

4. I liked: _______

5. I didn’t like: ________

6. This was about: ________

Let’s try another one. Here is a video clip. Again, write one or two words about each topic:

7. This part got my attention: ______

8. I liked: _______

9. I didn’t like: ________

10. This was about: ________

Great. I think everyone is ready.

Now, before we start looking at communication materials related to organ donation, I want you to indicate how you are feeling about it right now. And remember, your honest opinion is what is most important to me:

11. Organ donation is:

Not important

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

Important

12. How likely are you to register as a donor in the next 5 years?

Not likely

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

Very likely

Great. Let’s start looking at the materials I have to show you.

Review Materials (30 minutes)

[Repeat this process for each item to be reviewed, four to seven items per group. The specific materials each group sees will vary, as we will test the materials designed for each audience.]

OK, here is an item for us to look at. I’m going to [pass each item out/show this clip]. [After you finish looking at it/when it ends] please immediately answer all the questions on your card. Remember, we’re most interested in your first reactions. We’ll go through all the materials quickly, and then talk about them some more. When you are done, please turn your card over and then wait quietly for everyone else to finish.

For the questions on organ donation, please think about your opinions only in response to this particular item.

13. Organ donation is:

Not important

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

Important

14. How likely are you to register as a donor in the next 5 years?

Not likely

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

Very likely

15. Thinking about the item you just reviewed:

Dull	-----------------------------------------------------------------	Interesting
For someone else	-----------------------------------------------------------------	For me
Skim	-----------------------------------------------------------------	Review in depth
Makes me sad	-----------------------------------------------------------------	Makes me happy

Write two or three words:

16. This part got my attention: ______

17. I liked: _______

18. I didn’t like: ________

19. This was about: ________

[Repeat for each item]

Discuss Materials (60 minutes)

Great. Now you have seen several different materials on organ donation. Let’s talk about them a bit as a group.

1. When you first looked at these materials, which ones were you most interested in? Why?

2. Were there any materials that you were not interested in? Why not?

3. What stood out for you as you reviewed all the materials?

4. Were the materials what you were expecting? Why or why not?

Now, let’s go back and spend some more time as a group talking about each item.

[Repeat for each item]

5. What was the main point of this item? Did you find the message credible?

6. What do you remember most about this item?

7. Was there anything you did not understand?

8. Did this item tell you the main things you want to know about organ donation? Why or why not? Was there anything you wanted to know more about?

9. Who is this designed for? Is it for someone like you? Why or why not?

10. Let’s look at this specific part of the item [see pg. XX or replay a certain portion of the ad]. [Example questions. Specific questions will depend on the item being reviewed.]

    1. What is this part about?

    2. Do you like the images/colors/fonts?

    3. What do you think of [particular word/phrase/image]?

    4. Do you think you would remember this part? Share it with others?

    5. Does this information seem trustworthy? Why or why not?

    6. Is there anything you don’t understand?

11. Overall, would this item have any effect on your decision to register or not register?

Great, now I have some overall questions about all the items.

12. What was the most helpful or useful information you saw in these materials?

13. Which materials do you think would be most interesting to other people? What about them makes them interesting?

14. What questions do you have after reading these materials?

15. Do you think you are likely to do anything different related to organ donation as a result of seeing these materials? Why or why not?

16. If you wanted to become a registered organ donor [or if you were helping someone else to register], what else would you [they] need to know? Are there any questions that would need to be answered?

17. Based on what you saw and read in these materials, if you did want to register [or help someone register] as an organ donor, how would you [they] do that?

Closing Comments (5 minutes)

This has been a really great discussion. Before we close, I have just a few final questions.

1. First, is there anything else you want to say?

2. Finally, do you have any other thoughts, comments, or questions on this topic?

Thank you so much. I am working for a government agency called the Health Resources and Services Administration. This agency encourages people to register to become organ donors. We will use this feedback to improve the materials they develop on this topic. For more information, please visit organdonor.gov.

This completes our discussion. I am required by law to report to you the OMB Control Number for this public information request. That number is XXX, which expires YYY.

Thank you again for your participation in the study!

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