Stevens P E
Health Maintenance Department, School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Mil-waukee 53201, USA.
Public Health Nurs. 1996 Jun;13(3):170-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1525-1446.1996.tb00237.x.
Focus-group method is an apt strategy for studying community health phenomena at the aggregate level. Not only can its use facilitate the inclusion of segments of the population who have been underserved by previous research, but it can generate a depth of understanding about public health problems, community strengths, and potential interventions that have local meaning and utility. Advantages and potential uses of focus groups are explored, as well as purposes and processes of focus-group interviewing, strategies for analysis, methodological limitations, and implications for practice and policy. The author presents investigatory examples to illustrate how focus-group method expands on the possibilities of individual interviewing to explore community interpretations and understand the health needs and experiences of an aggregate.
焦点小组方法是在总体层面研究社区健康现象的一种恰当策略。它的运用不仅有助于纳入以往研究中未得到充分服务的人群，还能深入理解具有地方意义和实用性的公共卫生问题、社区优势以及潜在干预措施。本文探讨了焦点小组的优势和潜在用途，以及焦点小组访谈的目的和过程、分析策略、方法局限性，以及对实践和政策的影响。作者列举了调查实例，以说明焦点小组方法如何拓展了个体访谈的可能性，从而探究社区的解读，并理解总体人群的健康需求和经历。
