Kaufman Martin M, Smolinske Susan, Keswick David
Department of Earth and Resource Science, University of Michigan-Flint, 516 Murchie, Flint, Michigan 48502-1950, USA.
Environ Health. 2005 Aug 10;4:16. doi: 10.1186/1476-069X-4-16.
In fall of 2004, the authors began an investigation to characterize the correlations between the storage of Household Hazardous Materials and the associated health risks, particularly to children. The study area selected was Genesee County, Michigan, near Flint, with data to be collected by a phone survey of residents and through the acquisition of county hospital records containing procedure codes indicating treatment for poison emergencies, and review of poison control center data.
A focus group was used to identify key topics and relationships within these data for improving the phone survey questionnaire and its analysis.
The focus group was successful in identifying the key issues with respect to all the data collection objectives, resulting in a significantly shorter and more topically focused survey questionnaire. Execution time of the phone survey decreased from 30 to 12 minutes, and useful relationships between the data were revealed, e.g., the linkage between reading food labels and reading labels on containers containing potentially harmful substances.
Focus groups and their preparatory planning can help reveal data interrelationships before larger surveys are undertaken. Even where time and budget constraints prevent the ability to conduct a series of focus groups, one successful focus group session can improve survey performance and reduce costs.
2004年秋季，作者开始了一项调查，以描述家庭危险材料的储存与相关健康风险之间的相关性，尤其是对儿童的健康风险。所选研究区域是密歇根州弗林特附近的杰纳西县，数据将通过对居民的电话调查以及获取包含表明中毒紧急情况治疗的程序代码的县医院记录，并审查中毒控制中心的数据来收集。
使用焦点小组来确定这些数据中的关键主题和关系，以改进电话调查问卷及其分析。
焦点小组成功地确定了与所有数据收集目标相关的关键问题，从而使调查问卷显著缩短且主题更加集中。电话调查的执行时间从30分钟减少到12分钟，并且揭示了数据之间的有用关系，例如阅读食品标签与阅读含有潜在有害物质的容器上的标签之间的联系。
焦点小组及其筹备规划可以在进行大规模调查之前帮助揭示数据的相互关系。即使在时间和预算限制使得无法进行一系列焦点小组的情况下，一次成功的焦点小组会议也可以提高调查绩效并降低成本。
