Focus Group Study of Ethnically Diverse Low-Income Users of Paid Personal Assistance Services

Scientific evidence suggests that low-carbohydrate high-fat (LCHF) diets may be effective for managing non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Eat Better South Africa (EBSA) is an organization that runs LCHF nutrition education programs for women from low-income communities. Three focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with 18 women who had taken part in an EBSA program between 2015 and 2017, to explore their perceptions and to identify the facilitators and barriers they faced in implementing and sustaining dietary changes. Thematic analysis of the focus groups was conducted using NVivo 12 software. Women reported that they decided to enroll in the program because they suffered from NCDs. Most women said that the EBSA diet made them feel less hungry, more energetic and they felt that their health had improved. Most women spoke of socioeconomic challenges which made it difficult for them to follow EBSA’s recommendations, such as employment status, safety issues in the community, and lack of support from relatives and doctors. Hence, women felt they needed more support from EBSA after the program. The social determinants that affected these women’s ability to change their health behavior are also NCD risk factors, and these should be assessed to improve the program for other communities.

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Reasons for participating and genetic information needs among racially and ethnically diverse biobank participants: a focus group study

Journal of Community Genetics ◽

10.1007/s12687-011-0052-2 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

pp. 153-163 ◽

Cited By ~ 50

Author(s):

Samantha A. Streicher ◽

Saskia C. Sanderson ◽

Ethylin Wang Jabs ◽

Michael Diefenbach ◽

Meg Smirnoff ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Genetic Information ◽

Information Needs ◽

Ethnically Diverse ◽

Focus Group Study

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The perceptions of female breadwinner parents regarding their children’s distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic

Education and Information Technologies ◽

10.1007/s10639-021-10812-9 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Hibah Khalid Aladsani

Keyword(s):

Distance Learning ◽

Focus Group ◽

Low Income ◽

Teaching And Learning ◽

Cultural Issues ◽

Focus Group Study ◽

Technological Support ◽

Educationally Disadvantaged ◽

Face To Face Learning ◽

Low Income Families

AbstractCovid-19 has affected the everyday educational lives of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Parents who are living in low-income and disadvantaged communities are probably more likely than others to have been affected by the pandemic in relation to their children’s distance learning. This study focused on the perceptions, predictions, and suggestions of female breadwinner parents from low-income families regarding their children’s distance learning. Data were collected from 12 mothers who participated in a three-stage focus group study. The data from the focus group discussions were thematically analyzed into three categories: (1) financial issues, (2) social and cultural issues, and (3) educational issues. Additionally, the findings presented the breadwinners’ general and technological reasons for their predictions for enhancing education in the future if schools return to face-to-face learning or pursue a blended learning approach. The breadwinners suggested three approaches to teaching and learning for the following academic year. The findings of this study may be useful in the development of educational policies and training programs to provide essential social and technological support to low-income families to address their needs in the online learning environment and to improve digital equity for low-income families who are likely to be educationally disadvantaged.

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