Discussion Guide

OMB# 0910-0697

Exp. 12/31/2023

DISCUSSION GUIDE

TITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION: FDA CTP 2021 Educational Outreach Focus Groups with Health Educators

Section I: Introduction

Welcome to the focus group session. My name is [NAME] and I will be our discussion’s facilitator. This focus group will last approximately 90 minutes. While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Center for Tobacco Products (CTP) is the sponsor of this project, I am not an employee of the FDA or the federal government.

A few reminders before we begin. Participation in the focus group is voluntary, and you are free to not answer any question that I pose if you do not wish to do so. There are also no right or wrong answers to any of the questions I will be asking. You are also free to withdraw from the focus group at any time with no penalty. I do ask that you concentrate on our conversation—so, please, no other work and thank you for setting your phone aside for the duration of our discussion. If you need to take a quick break for any reason, just let me know.

Please be advised that although the researchers of this study will take every precaution to maintain confidentiality of the data collected, the nature of focus groups prevents researchers from guaranteeing confidentiality. However, the information you provide will be kept secure to the extent permitted by law. I would like to remind all of you to please respect the privacy of your fellow participants and not repeat what is said in the focus group to others. While you are encouraged to keep your webcams turned on during the duration of the session, the use of recording devices or taking of screenshots is not allowed.

I also ask that you please make sure that you are sitting in a quiet, private place where no one else can hear. If possible, please use earbuds/headphones for the duration of the focus group.

A couple of my colleagues are online, on mute, to take notes and listen to the discussion. They can see and hear you but will not be talking at all during this conversation.

We would like to audio record this discussion. The recording will only be reviewed by the researchers for the purpose of transcription and data analysis. No identifying information, such as last names, will be made available to anyone not directly involved in this project. We will not video record. Do I have your permission to audio record our focus group discussion? [MODERATOR TO CONFIRM VIA “YESES,” THUMBS-UP, HEADS-NODDING FROM ALL PARTICIPANTS.]

Participant Self-Introductions

Before we dive in, let’s go around the virtual table and introduce ourselves. When I call your first name, please introduce yourself by briefly telling us:

• The grade(s) you teach

• One thing you love about being an educator

• One main challenge you encounter in your work as an educator

Section II: Questions

One more favor. From now on, I would like each of you to please state your first name out loud before you make a comment—this will make the conversation and the audio recording easier to follow.

Topic 1: Experiences Teaching Tobacco and Vaping Prevention and Education

**=priority questions

1. **First, I’d like to hear about your experiences teaching students about vaping and tobacco use (including cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, and little cigars) as part of your health education curriculum. Who would like to share some brief, top-of-mind thoughts about your experiences?

   1. Why do you teach tobacco prevention lessons in health education?

      • Is there a requirement either by your school, school district, or state to teach tobacco prevention in health education? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: Yes/No/Not sure]

      • Do you have to follow specific coursework per school district rules? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: Yes/No/Not sure]

   2. **What are your goals for teaching the topic of tobacco prevention?

   3. **What are your student learning outcomes? [If not already covered in 1b.]

   4. What influences how you teach tobacco and vaping prevention and education?

   5. How much time, in days, do you spend teaching tobacco and vaping prevention and education in a typical semester? In a typical school year? For example, 1 day, 2.5 days, 5 days, etc.? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: Days (i.e., 1 day; 1.5 days; etc.; dissuade ranges unless absolutely necessary).]

• How much time do you have to teach a vaping prevention lesson? For example, is it a full 50-minute class period or 15 minutes squeezed into other health education material that you need to cover? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: Minutes (i.e., one full class period at X minutes; X minutes during one Y-minute class period).]

• For developing a new lesson on this topic, what is your recommendation for the ideal length of that lesson so that it is appropriate to your teaching realities/needs?

6. **What has worked especially well?

7. **Based on your experience teaching tobacco prevention, what would you suggest curriculum developers need to know to improve tobacco and vaping prevention curricula in the future? [PROBE FOR MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE]

8. **What would teaching the topic of tobacco prevention look like for you in an ideal world?

Topic 2: Tobacco and Vaping Prevention Resource Needs

1. **What resources do you have available to support you when teaching tobacco prevention to your students? [PROBE FOR MORE THAN ONE RESPONSE—e.g., support from school administrators, supplies, teaching materials, etc.]

a. **How much access do you have to current, relevant materials that offer opportunities for students to practice skills aligned with National Health Education Standards (NHES)? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: I have access to the amount needed; I have access to less than the amount needed; I do not have any access to this; I don’t know how much access I have]

b. **How much access do teachers have to low- or no-cost planning materials (e.g., lesson plans, assessments, activities, curricula)? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: I have access to the amount needed; I have access to less than the amount needed; I do not have any access to this; I don’t know how much access I have]

c. What additional resources that address the functional information students need to know about vaping and tobacco use would be good to have?

2. **Describe what you see as essential elements, aspects, or components of effective health education lessons focused on tobacco prevention.

   1. Health education has seen an increased emphasis on a skills-based approach. **What suggestions do you have that could help you or other health education teachers use a skills-based approach?

3. **What motivates you (and other teachers) to download lessons and use the lessons and materials in the classroom?

4. What do you see as key aspects of quality resources and lesson plans for tobacco and vaping prevention in health education curricula?

5. **Tell me about additional needs you have that are not being met by current resources. What learning materials, information, or supports would benefit you or your students?

6. Have you found model resources and if so, what are their names and who produced them? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: Yes/No/Not sure] What stands out about these particular resources?

7. How helpful would it be to have remote learning tobacco prevention modules for students at home?

• What lessons have you learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that you think are critical to include in the development of any new educational curricula?

Topic 3: Professional Development and Broader Community Supports

1. **How do you stay connected and informed about best practices in health education and tobacco prevention, specifically?

2. **Describe a professional development activity that really stood out to you as especially effective. What was it about this professional development activity that you remember most and why? Which aspect(s) of this professional development activity would be most helpful to you and other health educators in the future? [Note: This question is deliberately broad versus focused on professional development related to health education because most health educators do not pursue specific professional development activities.]

3. **What communication channel(s) do you prefer/do you use when looking for information about professional development opportunities? What would grab your attention most with respect to a training opportunity related to tobacco prevention and cessation?

4. **How do components of the Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child model intersect with what you teach in the classroom (i.e., school health services, mental health services [in school and in community], physical education, employee wellness)? [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: by school health services, mental health services [in school and in community], physical education, employee wellness, etc., categories]

• What other supports, resources, policies, or programming could help support tobacco prevention efforts at home, at school, and in your community?

• Probe: [NOTE-TAKER RECORDS: by categories: School or district tobacco policies, parent engagement activities, connections to school health initiatives, and information about community initiatives to support healthy behaviors.]

Section III: Closure

Before we close, does anyone have anything else to share on any of the topics we covered today?

Thank you for your time and providing specific and helpful feedback. Your perspectives will be used to create health education curriculum materials, resources, and supports to enhance tobacco and vaping prevention specifically for middle and high school students. Our goal with the information gleaned from this and other focus groups is to compile a report that will help inform FDA’s next set of school-based materials on tobacco prevention and education available for teachers. The information that you have provided will drive the lessons, units, supporting guidance, instruction, and assessment tools that will be developed. In the meantime, FDA has resources online to help support you in your teaching tobacco and vaping prevention and education efforts. You can access and download them at [moderator will display on the shared screen and spell the URL aloud: https://www.scholastic.com/youthvapingrisks

Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: 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. The public reporting burden for this information collection has been estimated to average 90 minutes per response to participate in the focus group (the time estimated to listen, respond, and complete). Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspects of this information collection, including suggestions for reducing burden, to [email protected].