Using Videoconferencing Focus Groups in Sexual and Reproductive Health Research With Chinese Im/Migrants in Australia

Videoconferencing focus groups have emerged as a popular method for collecting qualitative data. However, its use in sexual and reproductive health research is still very much in its infancy. Based on participants’ feedback and researchers’ reflections on using videoconferencing focus groups to collect sexual and reproductive health data with 39 heterosexual and non-heterosexual Chinese im/migrants in Australia, we discuss some of the key lessons learned, and considerations involved in shifting from face-to-face to online focus groups. Overall, videoconferencing focus groups appeared to be a highly feasible and acceptable way to discuss “sensitive” topics with Chinese im/migrants. Importantly, researchers need to be both creative and reflexive during the research process and must not forget that the success of a study lies not only in troubleshooting technical issues but also in cultivating and maintaining a trusting relationship with research participants.

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Patient and Public Involvement in Sexual and Reproductive Health: Time to Properly Integrate Citizen’s Input into Science

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17218048 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (21) ◽

pp. 8048

Author(s):

Miguel García-Martín ◽

Carmen Amezcua-Prieto ◽

Bassel H Al Wattar ◽

Jan Stener Jørgensen ◽

Aurora Bueno-Cavanillas ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Health ◽

Health Research ◽

Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽

Public Involvement ◽

Research Process ◽

Patient And Public Involvement ◽

Research Subjects ◽

Societal Benefits ◽

Participation Of Women ◽

Quality Tools

Evidence-based sexual and reproductive health is a global endeavor without borders. Inter-sectorial collaboration is essential for identifying and addressing gaps in evidence. Health research funders and regulators are promoting patient and public involvement in research, but there is a lack of quality tools for involving patients. Partnerships with patients are necessary to produce and promote robust, relevant and timely research. Without the active participation of women as stakeholders, not just as research subjects, the societal benefits of research cannot be realized. Creating and developing platforms and opportunities for public involvement in sexual and reproductive health research should be a key international objective. Cooperation between healthcare professionals, academic institutions and the community is essential to promote quality research and significant developments in women’s health. This cooperation will be improved when involvement of citizens in the research process becomes standard.

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Advantages, Disadvantages, and Lessons Learned in Conducting Telephone Focus Groups to Discuss Biospecimen Research Concerns of Individuals Genetically at Risk for Cancer

The Qualitative Report ◽

10.46743/2160-3715/2014.1224 ◽

2014 ◽

Author(s):

Alexis Koskan ◽

Janique Rice ◽

Clement Gwede ◽

Cathy Meade ◽

Ivana Sehovic ◽

...

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Focus Group ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Health Research ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Perceived Benefits ◽

Face To Face ◽

Focus Group Research ◽

Telecommunication Technology ◽

Group Research

Advances in telecommunication technology allow biomedical researchers to explore new, inexpensive opportunities for conducting focus group research. This article reports our experiences using such technology to engage individuals genetically at risk for cancer about biospecimen research. Telephone-based focus groups were conducted with a total of 40 individuals, and participants were asked about their experiences and perceived benefits and limitations of participating in a telephone focus group about biospecimen research. The lessons learned can effectively be applied to other areas of health research. In particular, this method may be most useful to engage individuals who are less apt to speak in public, and/or when there are concerns over privacy if face-to-face discussions methods are used.

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Using Social Media in health research with women of reproductive age: Online Focus Groups on Facebook (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.24108 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Camilla Gry Temmesen ◽

Henriette Svarre Nielsen ◽

Heidi Lene Myglegård Andersen ◽

Kathrine Birch Petersen ◽

Jane Clemensen

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Focus Group ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Health Research ◽

Qualitative Data ◽

Reproductive Age ◽

Women Of Reproductive Age ◽

Face To Face ◽

Qualitative Health Research ◽

Online Focus Groups

BACKGROUND Social media provides new possibilities within health research, especially in hard-to-reach populations. Women in Denmark and around the world postpone motherhood and risk infertility due to their advanced age when they try to conceive. To this date, no studies have explored Danish women’s reflections on timing of motherhood within a social media setting. OBJECTIVE To explore Facebook as a platform for qualitative health research for women of reproductive age. METHODS A qualitative study based on three online focus groups on the social media Facebook with 26 Danish women of reproductive age discussing timing of motherhood in January 2020. RESULTS Conducting online focus groups on Facebook were successful to this study as it made recruitment easy and free of charge, and the online approach was found eligible for qualitative data collection. All participants found it to be a positive experience to participate in an online focus group. More than half of the women participating in the online focus groups, felt that it was an advantage to meet on Facebook instead of meeting face-to-face. CONCLUSIONS Conducting online focus groups on Facebook is an eligible method to access qualitative data from women of reproductive age. Participants were positive towards being a part of an online focus group. Online focus groups on social media have the potential to give women of reproductive age a voice in the debate of motherhood.

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Utilization of online focus groups to include mothers: A use-case design, reflection, and recommendations

Digital Health ◽

10.1177/2055207618777675 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 4 ◽

pp. 205520761877767 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Kara Skelton ◽

Retta Evans ◽

Jenna LaChenaye ◽

Jonathan Amsbary ◽

Martha Wingate ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Focus Groups ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Face To Face ◽

The Past ◽

Sensitive Topics ◽

Online Focus Groups ◽

Hard To Reach Populations ◽

Use Of Social Media ◽

Almost All ◽

Case Design

Advances in technology over the past decade have allowed unique methodologies to emerge, enabling the engagement of hard-to-reach populations on sensitive topics in a way that was before thought not possible with traditional face-to-face modalities. This study aimed to use online focus group discussions (FGDs) to explore breastfeeding mothers’ use of social media. Results indicate participants had a positive experience with online FGDs, and almost all preferred this method to traditional face-to-face focus groups. We discuss reflections of the online FGD experience, including best practices and recommendations for innovative ways to include time-constrained or hard-to-reach participants, for yielding rich qualitative data.

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Asynchronous Online Focus Groups for Health Research: Case Study and Lessons Learned

International Journal of Qualitative Methods ◽

10.1177/1609406921990489 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 20 ◽

pp. 160940692199048 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Allegra R. Gordon ◽

Jerel P. Calzo ◽

Rose Eiduson ◽

Kendall Sharp ◽

Scout Silverstein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Health Research ◽

Social Life ◽

Social Research ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Online Technologies ◽

Online Focus Groups ◽

Decision Points ◽

And Gender

Increasingly, social life—and accordingly, social research—is conducted in online environments. Asynchronous online focus groups (AOFGs) have emerged as an important tool to conduct remote research with geographically diverse populations. However, there remain few systematic accounts of AOFG methods to guide researchers’ decision-making in designing and implementing studies. This paper seeks to address this gap by describing a recent study on body image and health among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young adults. In this study, eight AOFGs were conducted in August-October 2019 with 66 TGD young adults residing in 25 U.S. states. Each AOFG lasted four consecutive days with two prompts posted by moderators per day. Overall, participant satisfaction with AOFGs was high: 98% reported their experience was excellent, very good, or good and 95% would be somewhat or very likely to sign up for another AOFG. This example is used to illustrate key methodological decision-points, acceptability of the method to participants, and lessons learned. The goal of this paper is to encourage other researchers, particularly health researchers, to consider using AOFGs and to engage with the method’s strengths and limitations in order to develop new opportunities for online technologies to enrich the field of qualitative health research.

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Looking ahead in the COVID-19 pandemic: emerging lessons learned for sexual and reproductive health services in low- and middle-income countries

Reproductive Health ◽

10.1186/s12978-021-01307-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Aduragbemi Banke-Thomas ◽

Sanni Yaya

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Health ◽

Service Provision ◽

Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Safe Abortion ◽

Middle Income ◽

Health Service Provision ◽

Middle Income Countries ◽

Published Evidence ◽

Low And Middle Income

AbstractThe COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread disruption to essential health service provision globally, including in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Recognising the criticality of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services, we review the actual reported impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on SRH service provision and evidence of adaptations that have been implemented to date. Across LMICs, the available data suggests that there was a reduction in access to SRH services, including family planning (FP) counselling and contraception access, and safe abortion during the early phase of the pandemic, especially when movement restrictions were in place. However, services were quickly restored, or alternatives to service provision (adaptations) were explored in many LMICs. Cases of gender-based violence (GBV) increased, with one in two women reporting that they have or know a woman who has experienced violence since the beginning of the pandemic. As per available evidence, many adaptations that have been implemented to date have been digitised, focused on getting SRH services closer to women. Through the pandemic, several LMIC governments have provided guidelines to support SRH service delivery. In addition, non-governmental organisations working in SRH programming have played significant roles in ensuring SRH services have been sustained by implementing several interventions at different levels of scale and to varying success. Most adaptations have focused on FP, with limited attention placed on GBV. Many adaptations have been implemented based on guidance and best practices and, in many cases, leveraged evidence-based interventions. However, some adaptations appear to have simply been the sensible thing to do. Where evaluations have been carried out, many have highlighted increased outputs and efficiency following the implementation of various adaptations. However, there is limited published evidence on their effectiveness, cost, value for money, acceptability, feasibility, and sustainability. In addition, the pandemic has been viewed as a homogenous event without recognising its troughs and waves or disentangling effects of response measures such as lockdowns from the pandemic itself. As the pandemic continues, neglected SRH services like those targeting GBV need to be urgently scaled up, and those being implemented with any adaptations should be rigorously tested.

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Stance Analysis

Contemporary Research in E-Marketing, Volume 2 ◽

10.4018/978-1-59140-824-6.ch010 ◽

2011 ◽

pp. 262-283 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Peyton Mason ◽

Boyd Davis ◽

Deborah Bosley

Keyword(s):

Focus Group ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Financial Services ◽

Multivariate Techniques ◽

Online Chat ◽

Face To Face ◽

Online Focus Groups ◽

Group Data ◽

Focus Group Data ◽

Marketing Information

In this chapter, we will first discuss what stance is and highlight how we identify and measure stance using multivariate techniques, using an ongoing example taken from an Online Financial Focus Group. We review differences in stance between online real-time focus groups and online chat, as well as between online and face-to-face focus groups; and finally, proffer examples of stance analysis in two very different online focus groups: older adults discussing financial services and teens discussing clothes. As marketers see that online focus groups offer valuable marketing information by understanding the significance of how something is said as well as what is said, their confidence in the use of online focus-group data should increase.

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Practical lessons for bringing policy-makers on board in sexual and reproductive health research

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-016-1889-1 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 16 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Aurore Guieu ◽

Wei-Hong Zhang ◽

Yves Lafort ◽

Peter Decat ◽

Sara De Meyer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Reproductive Health ◽

Health Research ◽

Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽

Policy Makers

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STEER: Factors to Consider When Designing Online Focus Groups Using Audiovisual Technology in Health Research

International Journal of Qualitative Methods ◽

10.1177/1609406919885786 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 18 ◽

pp. 160940691988578 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicola Daniels ◽

Patricia Gillen ◽

Karen Casson ◽

Iseult Wilson

Keyword(s):

Data Collection ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Mixed Methods Study ◽

Face To Face ◽

Geographically Dispersed ◽

The United Kingdom ◽

Online Focus Groups ◽

Health Care Practitioners ◽

Academic Researchers ◽

Journal Entries

Technological advancements and ease of Internet accessibility have made using Internet-based audiovisual software a viable option for researchers conducting focus groups. Online platforms overcome any geographical limitations placed on sampling by the location of potential participants and so enhance opportunities for real-time discussions and data collection in groups that otherwise might not be feasible. Although researchers have been adopting Internet-based options for some time, empirical evaluations and published examples of focus groups conducted using audiovisual technology are sparse. It therefore cannot yet be established whether conducting focus groups in this way can truly mirror face-to-face discussions in achieving the authentic interaction to generate data. We use our experiences to add to the developing body of literature by analyzing our critical reflections on how procedural aspects had the potential to influence the data we collected using audiovisual technology to conduct synchronous focus groups. As part of a mixed methods study, we chose to conduct focus groups in this way to access geographically dispersed populations and to enhance sample variation. We conducted eight online focus groups using audiovisual technology with both academic researchers and health-care practitioners across the four regions of the United Kingdom. A reflexive journal was completed throughout the planning, conduct and analysis of the focus groups. Content analysis of journal entries was carried out to identify procedural factors that had the potential to affect the data collected during this study. Five themes were identified ( Stability of group numbers, Technology, Environment, Evaluation, and Recruitment), incorporating several categories of issues for consideration. Combined with the reflections of the researcher and published experiences of others, suggested actions to minimize any potential impacts of issues which could affect interactions are presented to assist others who are contemplating this method of data collection.

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