Using focus groups to identify clinical learning opportunities for registered nurses

A series of focus groups was organized at five metropolitan teaching hospitals. Participants were encouraged to identify opportunities for and barriers to learning for registered nurses employed at ward level, and to suggest practical strategies for maximizing clinical learning. The focus groups had a dual purpose: data collection and action learning. The experience of group participation heightened awareness of learning opportunities, increased understanding and tolerance of differing viewpoints and generated commitment to identified strategies to enhance clinical learning.     

Using focus groups among the elderly

Focus groups are important tools for assessing markets, making public policy and researching applied science. The use of focus groups can enable us to gather large volumes of data in short periods of time. The need for focus groups, because of the economical and efficient way in which they generate information, has grown recently in nursing. Focus groups can be used among different groups within a population, including teenagers, healthy adults, elderly people, patients and nurses. The manner in which they are used, however, must be adjusted to take account of the characteristics of each group. This article discusses the preparation, implementation, analysis and reporting of the use of focus groups among elderly people. It was important to observe the elderly subjects' physical and psychological states, work and rest habits, and interaction, and carefully arrange the detail of each group in accordance with the findings of such observation. This article is intended to enable the experience of using focus groups among the elderly to be shared with other researchers.     

Using focus groups to explore the group music therapy experience of long term care elderly

The purpose of this study was to explore the elderly's experience and perceptions of group music therapy. The residents of a long term care institution received group music therapy for one year. Afterwards, three interviews were conducted in focus groups of between six and eight of the elderly. Their ages ranged from 64 to 90. Ninety-five percent of these elderly subjects participated in the therapy for over ten months. The tape-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using content analysis. Six themes emerged regarding the elderly subjects' experiences and perceptions of group music therapy, as follows: (1) becoming more willing to participate; (2) feeling pain relief and more controlled moods; (3) getting physically better; (4) being more motivated to live; (5) learning positive personal interaction and obedience to the rules of the group; and (6) learning skills to improve personal health. This information might be used as a helpful and valuable reference in nursing education and by administrative organizations involved in the planning of therapeutic programs for the elderly.     

End-of-life care for ethnic minority groups

Death and dying are profound events that bring into focus important ethical and medical questions for all patients, whatever their cultural background. For ethnic minority groups and their families, specific issues or barriers may arise related to culturally appropriate health care practices, cultural or religious differences, diverse health beliefs, and access to services for care and support during end-of-life conditions. National policy and local initiatives in both the United States and the United Kingdom support the development of services that address the care of ethnic minorities. This article examines end-of-life care for ethnic minority groups.     

Using focus groups for program planning and evaluation.

School nurses often find themselves developing health-related programs for children and adolescents. One way to create compelling and interesting programs that meet the needs of students is to include them in the planning, development, and evaluation of such programs through focus groups. Children provide a perspective about their particular needs, interests, and understandings that cannot be obtained from adults or health care professionals. When children take part in program planning, the programs become more appealing to children because of the feedback from their perspective. This article describes ways focus groups can be used to examine the effectiveness and usability of health-related programs. Included is a discussion of the pros and cons of using focus groups with school-age children for planning and evaluating programs and guidelines for conducting focus groups.     

Using focus groups in rehabilitation nursing.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the research method of focus groups and give an example of how it could be used to advance rehabilitation nursing in the area of poststroke adaptation or recovery. Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in elderly Americans. Although much is known about the physical effects and treatments of stroke, little has been published on the adaptive behaviors or recovery process of stroke survivors. The focus-group technique can provide an "insider's" view of the adaptive behaviors of stroke survivors and is a cost-effective way to generate rich qualitative data to guide nursing practice.     

Using reflective practice processes to identify practice change issues in an aged care service

This paper reports on a reflective process used to identify areas for practice change as one element of a large practice development project that is currently being implemented in a large metropolitan psychiatric hospital. The paper describes a stepwise process of group and individual reflection on practice which was successful in helping clinicians identify areas for practice change and motivate them to plan and implement client centred change. The process described here also shows that reflection itself is insufficient to bring about change and that structures must be developed to act as the scaffolding to support the changes identified by the reflection on practice.     

Using focus groups to develop culturally relevant instruments

Recent criticism has focused on the validity of instruments used in research with immigrant populations. Conventional instrument development or validation techniques may not be adequate to determine whether an instrument is appropriate for use with populations who differ from those with whom the instrument was originally developed. This article discusses the value of using focus group methodology to develop instruments for use with immigrant populations using the example of an intergenerational conflict tool for multigenerational Chinese immigrant families. Involving community members through focus groups is an important component of instrument development that is often neglected by researchers. This process was critical to developing a culturally appropriate instrument that accurately reflected the community's life experiences. Strategies for conducting meaningful and successful focus groups with Chinese immigrants are provided. Advantages and disadvantages of using focus groups are also discussed.     

The health care needs of ethnic minority groups: are nurses and individuals playing their part?

The UKCC Code of Professional Conduct for nurses, midwives and health visitors stresses the need to have an understanding of the social and cultural determinants of health and illness There is as yet little evidence of what might constitute good practice in this area and it is difficult to ascertain why this basic philosophy is not translated into action Indeed, the nursing and midwifery professions' ability to deliver adequate and appropriate health care more generally to Britain's multiracial, multicultural population has been questioned This literature review presents evidence which strongly suggests that although we are living in a multicultural society patients from minority ethnic groups are additionally disadvantaged because the initiatives by nurses, and others working in the National Health Service, to meet their health care needs are inadequate and often inappropriate     

Diabetes care in minority groups. Overcoming barriers to meet these patients' special needs.

Physicians play a critical role in reaching diabetic patients in minority groups. These patients need professional help to modify their diets and exercise patterns, to follow drug regimens and blood-testing programs, to comply with treatment over the long term, and to pay for treatment. Closing the gap between the treatment levels afforded different groups of Americans is an enormous challenge, but it is one that is critical to the health of our population.     

Using focus groups to develop a culturally sensitive videotape intervention for HIV-positive women

Research-based interventions for women with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are usually developed without input from the women who receive the intervention. An exploratory study was performed using focus group methodology to develop a culturally sensitive videotape intervention for educating HIV-positive women about pregnancy and antiretroviral use. Women who met the study criteria were HIV-positive and of childbearing age. These women volunteered to participate in the focus groups to provide information on decisions concerning pregnancy and antiretroviral use during pregnancy to decrease perinatal transmission. A total of five focus groups were conducted in 1998. Responses to three questions that were relevant to the video are presented in this article. Information gained from the focus groups was used successfully to develop a videotape currently being used in a multisite intervention study. Focus group methodology is a useful strategy to develop culturally and content relevant educational interventions for research and practice.     

Using computer simulations and focus groups for planned change in prenatal clinics

The Colleges of Nursing and Engineering in a southwest Florida university combined efforts to design a project to use time/motion techniques and focus groups to assess patent flow and effective and efficient use of human resources in public health clinics. Data for 877 observations were entered into a computer simulation program that displayed alternative configurations for health resource management. Information from focus groups was used to plan for ways to use clinic wait time more effectively. This article describes data collection and findings.