Bergeria Cecilia L, Park Brandon, Satyavolu Prem Umang, Dunn Kelly E, Dworkin Robert H, Strain Eric C
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States.
Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, United States.
Front Psychiatry. 2024 Mar 11;15:1352300. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1352300. eCollection 2024.
There are substantial barriers to conducting research among individuals with stigmatized and complicated health conditions like substance use disorders. These barriers slow progress when developing, refining, and assessing interventions to better treat underserved populations. Virtual focus groups are an innovative method for collecting data from individuals via a discreet and accessible platform which can inform novel as well as existing treatment approaches. This article reports on the feasibility and acceptability of virtual focus groups as a mechanism to recruit and engage geographically and demographically diverse samples of participants with substance use disorders that are otherwise logistically difficult to assess.
Participants were assessed for eligibility for a virtual focus group study based on demographic features, drug use history, and psychiatric history via a remote, interview-based screening. Focus groups were completed anonymously without video or name-sharing. Discussion contributions, quantified with number of times speaking and total number of words spoken, were compared across gender, and treatment status. Participants provided quantitative and qualitative feedback on the focus group experience in a follow-up survey.
Focus groups (=26) based in geographical areas throughout the United States were conducted with 88 individuals with opioid use disorder or stimulant use disorder. Discussion contributions were comparable between genders and among individuals in treatment versus those seeking treatment. A follow-up survey (=50, 57% of focus group participants) reflected high levels of enjoyment, comfort, and honesty during focus group discussions.
Findings suggest virtual focus groups can be an effective and efficient tool for substance use research.
在患有如物质使用障碍等受污名化且复杂健康状况的个体中开展研究存在重大障碍。在开发、完善和评估旨在更好地治疗服务不足人群的干预措施时，这些障碍会减缓进展。虚拟焦点小组是一种创新方法，可通过一个谨慎且易于使用的平台从个体收集数据，这可为新的以及现有的治疗方法提供信息。本文报告了虚拟焦点小组作为一种招募和吸引具有物质使用障碍的地理和人口统计学特征各异的参与者样本的机制的可行性和可接受性，否则这些样本在后勤方面难以评估。
通过基于访谈的远程筛选，根据人口统计学特征、药物使用史和精神病史评估参与者是否符合虚拟焦点小组研究的资格。焦点小组以匿名方式完成，不进行视频或姓名共享。对讨论贡献进行量化，统计发言次数和发言总字数，并按性别和治疗状态进行比较。参与者在后续调查中对焦点小组体验提供了定量和定性反馈。
在美国各地不同地理区域开展了26个焦点小组，共有88名患有阿片类物质使用障碍或兴奋剂使用障碍的个体参与。性别之间以及接受治疗者与寻求治疗者之间的讨论贡献相当。一项后续调查（n = 50，占焦点小组参与者的57%）显示，在焦点小组讨论期间，参与者的满意度、舒适度和坦诚度都很高。
研究结果表明，虚拟焦点小组可以成为物质使用研究的一种有效且高效的工具。
