0920-25BU Sandwich Generation Consumer Focus Group Discussion Guid

WS-CDC ARX – OY1 Focus Group Guide

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OMB Control No.: 0920-1154

Expiration date: 03/31/2026

Antimicrobial Resistance Communications and Media Support Services

Focus Group Discussion Guide for Sandwich Generation Consumers

November 25, 2024, V4Final

Introduction; approx. 10 minutes

1. Welcome! Thank you for joining today’s discussion. My name is NAME. I’m an independent researcher and moderator with KRC Research.

2. The sole funder of today’s focus group discussion is the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—CDC. Our conversation today will focus on a health topic.

3. I’m a professional researcher, but not a CDC employee or a subject matter expert on health topics. My role is to facilitate our conversation for the next 90 minutes. Let me tell you a bit about it.

1. There are no wrong answers, and different opinions are welcome.

2. We will need to talk one at a time and let everyone have time to speak. Not everyone has to answer each question, but it’s important that everyone participates.

3. If you can’t see the screen well or have difficulty hearing, let me know. We have a technician who can help.

4. Please silence your cell phones and put away portable devices.

5. If you need to step away, you don’t have to ask for permission—just come back when you finish.

4. Because privacy is important, I’m going to share our Privacy Policy.

1. We will protect your privacy for today’s discussion, and nothing you say will be reported in association with your name. We will use first names only during the conversation. You may choose to use a nickname or any other name you prefer.

2. Your participation is voluntary—you do not have to answer anything you are uncomfortable with.

3. Like our technician who is with us today virtually but who you do not see, a few colleagues are also with me virtually today to watch quietly and take notes.

4. We are audio- and videorecording for transcribing of today’s discussion. Because we’re speaking with many groups like this one, it is important to have an accurate record of today’s conversation.

5. We ask that you not share participants’ comments or identities with others outside this group.

Warm-Up; approx. 5 minutes

5. Thanks for joining today. One thing you all share is that everyone is a caregiver for both an older adult and either a young child or adult child. Let’s introduce ourselves. Tell us…

1. Your first name or preferred nickname

2. What state you’re located in

3. A bit about the children and the other people you care for

We’re going to talk about a health topic. In our conversation, consider your experiences as parents, guardians, and caregivers.

Materials Testing; approx. 28 minutes (7 minutes per material)

We’re going to look at draft materials from CDC about a health topic.

The materials represent an idea or theme, including language and visuals, designed for use in print and online ads, posters, fact sheets, and more. Assume CDC is moving forward with these, and your feedback will help refine them.

We will be looking at several materials. Please consider each on its own. We’ll compare them later.

A few more things:

• I did not create these.

• These were created to share with you. They are not final and can be tweaked.

• I’m interested in your own opinions, not what you think others might think.

Let’s look at the first one.

[RANDOMLY SHOW SAMPLE AD P, C, AND S AND RUN THROUGH QUESTIONS 6-16 FOR EACH—1-2 MINUTES TO REVIEW.]

[THEN, RANDOMLY SHOW EITHER SAMPLE SOCIAL POST M OR H AND RUN THROUGH QUESTIONS 6-16 —1-2 MINUTES TO REVIEW.]

6. Please rate this on a scale from 1-5, where 1 means you don’t like it at all, and 5 means you like it a lot. I’ll get a rating from everyone. MODERATOR CAPTURE RATINGS FROM ALL

7. In a few words, what’s your first impression? 

8. What is the main idea or message this is communicating, in your own words?

   1. What does this say and show?

   2. What is the issue or problem being communicated?

   3. What, if anything, does the material want you to know and do?

9. Would this catch your attention?

   1. Why? What grabs your attention?

   2. Is this relevant to you and the people you care for? Why?

10. Are the ideas, phrases, or words clear and understandable?

    1. Which parts are clear? What makes them clear?

    2. Which parts are unclear? What makes them unclear?

    3. What questions do you have?

11. This material talks about drug-resistant infections…

12. From what you see on this material, how well do you understand this idea?

    1. How would you define drug-resistant infections based on this?

    2. What do you understand about drug-resistant infections based on this?

    3. Are there consequences of drug-resistant infections based on this?

13. RE-ASK: What other questions do you have about drug-resistant infections based on this?

14. How serious does the topic seem, based on this?

    1. Does this topic feel concerning? Why?

    2. For whom are you concerned? PROBE: Yourself? Those in your care? Others?

15. The material says…

[FILL IN WITH CTA LANGUAGE SHOWN IN SAMPLE AD OR SOCIAL POST]

1. What do you think about that language?

2. What’s your reaction to CDC saying [FILL IN WITH CTA LANGUAGE SHOWN IN SAMPLE AD OR SOCIAL POST]? Why?

16. After seeing this, how motivated would you be to…

    1. Visit the website to get information? Why?

    2. Start a conversation with your healthcare provider about this the next time you see them?

    3. Start a conversation with family or friends about this? Why?

    4. Take preventative actions to slow the spread of drug-resistant infections Why?

Material Comparison; approx. 6 minutes

Now it’s time for comparisons. I’ll put all three sample ads on the screen. SHARE MATERIALS ON SCREEN TOGETHER

17. Which one sample ad is most personally compelling? I’ll get a vote from everyone. MODERATOR CAPTURE PREFERENCE FROM ALL

18. ASK ABOUT MOST-PREFERRED MATERIALS: For those who said [PREFERRED MATERIAL], what sets it apart?

19. Which materials provides the best motivation to…[ASK ABOUT PREFERRED MATERIAL PRIMARILY, PROBE ON ADDITIONAL MATERIALS AS TIME PERMITS]

    1. Visit CDC websites or follow the links to get more information? Why?

    2. Start a conversation with family or friends about this topic? Why?

    3. Take preventative actions to slow the spread of drug-resistant germs? Why?

Discussion of AR; approx. 7 minutes

Let’s talk more about drug-resistant germs and infections.

20. Before today, was anyone familiar with drug-resistant infections or did anyone have experience?

    1. Is what you saw in the materials different from what you thought previously?

21. How would you explain what drug-resistant infections are to friends or family, based on the material?

22. What does “drug-resistant” mean in this context? SHARE SAMPLE AD OR SOCIAL POST STIMULI ON SCREEN AGAIN IF NEEDED

    1. Did the material make this clearer? Why?

23. How serious or not serious are drug-resistant infections? Very, somewhat, not too? Why?

24. What information or examples would make this problem feel more urgent or serious?

    1. How compelling would it be to have…

       1. Statements or quotes from medical professionals or scientists? What would that add?

       2. Testimonials from Americans who had drug-resistant infections, or their loved ones? What would that add?

    2. PROBE: What type of statistics are compelling? Number of infections, hospitalizations, or deaths? Comparisons of deaths caused by this problem and other health problems (HIV, malaria, etc.)?

25. Thinking of your role as a caregiver, what questions do you have about drug-resistant infections?

    1. What would you like information about?

    2. What would you want to know?

26. Does being a caregiver motivate you to act in any particular way when it comes to this topic? Why?

Reactions to Definitions and Terms; approx. 7 minutes

Now, I’ll share a few definitions and terms. SHARE MESSAGE SET A ON SCREEN AND READ

27. Which ONE definition do find clearest? MODERATOR CAPTURE RATINGS, TALLY, THEN DISCUSS EACH:

    1. For those who picked [INSERT PREFERRED DEFINITION], what about this do you like best and makes it clearest?

    2. Are there any definitions that are unclear or confusing?

    3. Do you have any questions?

28. What is your main takeaway from this information?

Now that you have reviewed a few potential definitions, I want to get your reactions to a few potential terms that may fit the definitions that I just showed you. SHARE MESSAGE SET B ON SCREEN; READ AND ALLOW TIME TO REVIEW

29. Which term do you like best for describing when bacterial and fungal infections develop the ability to resist the drugs designed to kill them, making the infections harder or impossible to treat? MODERATOR CAPTURE RATINGS, TALLY

    1. What about this term feels the most appropriate?

    2. PROBE: Is there a next best term?

Actions to Combat AR; approx. 14 minutes

Let’s talk about actions to slow the spread of drug-resistant germs.

30. Do you feel you have the ability to make a difference for the people you care for, or not? Why?

31. What actions do you think would slow the spread of drug-resistant germs and infections?

    1. PROBE: How do these slow the spread?

    2. PROBE: Do you already take any of these actions?

32. Thinking about the people you care for, what actions could you take to protect them from drug-resistant germs?

    1. PROBE: Is there anything to prevent infections in the first place?

    2. PROBE: How are the actions connected to slowing the overall spread of drug-resistant germs?

Now I’ll share some information about combatting drug-resistant infections and how to protect yourself and others. SHARE MESSAGE SET C ON SCREEN; ALLOW TIME TO REVIEW

33. What’s your first reaction to this?

    1. What stands out? Can you point to specifics?

    2. What’s new or surprising?

    3. Do you do any of this already? Specifically to slow the spread of drug-resistant infections?

34. Do any of these seem easy? Why?

    1. Do any seem hard? What would make them easier?

35. Why might you not take some of these actions regularly or at all?

    1. PROBE: Difficulty?

    2. PROBE: Lack of knowledge or information?

    3. PROBE: Time, complexity, money, or access?

36. What challenges or barriers to acting do you see in your role as a caregiver?

Calls to Action; approx. 4 minutes

Now I’ll share examples of drug-resistant infections. Then let’s talk about steps you could take after learning about these. SHARE MESSAGE SET D ON SCREEN; ALLOW TIME TO REVIEW

37. Do any of these motivate you to learn more about drug-resistant infections or take an action?

    1. What action would you take?

    2. Are there other infections or diseases that would be more relevant to you or those you care for?

Now I’ll share another list of potential actions you could take to take action related to drug-resistant infections. SHARE MESSAGE SET E ON SCREEN; ALLOW TIME TO REVIEW

38. What do you think about these actions?

    1. Do these make sense?

    2. Which are you likely to do? Why?

    3. Which are you unlikely to do? Why?

Information and Conversations; approx. 6 minutes

Finally, let’s talk about information sources.

39. What sources, if any, do you use to get health and science information on topics like drug-resistant infections? MODERATOR TO ASK ALL PARTICIPANTS

    1. For those who seek out health and science information, what are your go-to sources? Why?

    2. How often are you doing research or seeking out health and science information?

40. For those with experience or knowledge of drug-resistant infections, where did you get information?

    1. For those who sought information, where did you turn?

    2. For others, where would you turn?

41. What is, or might be, challenging about getting reliable, actionable information on drug-resistant infections?

42. Whom would you trust for information about drug-resistant infections and protecting yourself and others?

    1. What tells you a source is trustworthy?

    2. What source might cause you to think more seriously about drug-resistant infections, if they shared a warning?

    3. PROBE: Is CDC a trusted source for information about drug-resistant infections? Why?

43. What other information would you like to have to understand the topic or to be able to act, especially as a caregiver?

    1. What channels or methods would you prefer to receive or obtain this type of information? Why?

    2. What could CDC provide?

Wrap Up; approx. 3 minutes

We’re going to wrap up.

44. What advice do you have for the CDC about communicating with the public about drug-resistant infections and how to address them?

MODERATOR THANK AND DISMISS

Public reporting burden of this collection of information is estimated to average 90 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 H21-8, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA 0920-1154