Form 003_BFWHWEmWell_fo 003_BFWHWEmWell_focus

Health Resources and Services Administration
Bright Futures for Women’s Health and Wellness (BFWHW) Emotional Wellness
Guides
Consumer Focus Group Guidance
DRAFT
Suggested Intro: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. My name is XX and I
work for The Lewin Group, a health care consulting firm in Falls Church, Virginia. We are
working with the Health Resources and Services Administration to evaluate a new set of
educational materials called the Bright Futures for Women’s Health and Wellness (BFWHW)
Emotional Wellness Guides. These materials are designed to provide women with information
about emotional health and wellness.
This focus group will last 1 to 1.5 hours. First, we are going to give you a chance to review the
BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide, and then we will ask you some questions about the
BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide. You have been invited to participate today because we
want your feedback on the BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide, how useful you think it is,
whether it talks about issues that are important to you, and whether or not you would
recommend it to other women. We’ll ask you questions like “Was the BFWHW Emotional
Wellness Guide easy to read and understand?” and “Is the advice helpful?” We’ll also ask you
questions about how comfortable you are or might be talking about the issues in the BFWHW
Emotional Wellness Guide with your health care provider, counselor, or case manager. Your
input and feedback will help us to evaluate the Guide and help the Health Resources and
Services Administration to develop other educational materials to improve women’s health.
Once you’ve reviewed the BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide, we have some specific
questions we would like you to answer, but feel free to jump in at any time with your thoughts
and ideas. There will be no formal breaks. However, feel free to get up at any time if you need
to stretch, go to the bathroom, or step out for a moment.
We hope you will be as open and honest with us as possible, and we ask that everyone keep
what is said here today confidential. We are taping this session and taking notes so we can
compile all of your feedback together along with feedback from women we are talking with at
other sites, but your individual answers or comments will not be shared with anyone outside
this evaluation team. Your comments and answers will not be linked to you and your name will
not be used in the final evaluation report. We value the information you will share with us
today and want to make sure we accurately capture all of it, which is why we’d like to tape the
session. Does anyone have any objections to us taping this discussion?”
Please understand that your participation is entirely voluntary and does not affect the care that
you will receive from [insert name of site/program]. You are free to decide not to answer any of
our questions and to quit participating altogether and leave at any time. At the end of this focus
group, you will be given a $10 Visa check card as a token of our appreciation. The $10 Visa
check card works like cash to pay for groceries, clothing, gas, etc. at places that accept Visa
cards.

H-2

Do you have any questions before we begin?
Review Guides: Participants will have 10-15 minutes to read through the guide. Notepads will
be provided so they can take notes if desired.
Questions (in round table format):
1)
2)
3)
4)

Overall, what did you think about the BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide?
Is it easy to read?
Is it easy to understand?
What did you think of the examples?
a. Did the women’s stories/experiences/challenges seem familiar to you?
b. Can you relate to any of them? Have you experienced similar things?
c. Do you feel the Guide was written for women like you?
5) What did you think about the advice and tips in the guide?
a. Is it good advice? Is it helpful?
b. Were some of the ideas new to you? Is the Guide suggesting some things you do
anyway?
6) Do you think the BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide is useful or helpful?
a. If so, what is most useful or helpful about it?
b. If you do not think the guide would help you, do you think the advice would
help other women? Who do you think the Guide would be helpful for?
7) Do you ever talk about issues like these (relationships, self-confidence, life balance) with
your friends or family members?
8) Have you ever talked about issues like these with your health care provider or counselor
here or elsewhere?
a. If so…
i. Did the provider or counselor ask you about something or did you raise
the issue yourself?
ii. Was it helpful to talk about it?
iii. Did the provider or counselor seem comfortable talking about it?
iv. Were you comfortable talking about it?
b. If not…
i. Why not? (e.g., no issue so nothing to talk about, wanted to but didn’t
feel comfortable, or didn’t have time in the appointment, etc.)
9) If someone gave you this BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide in an appointment, would
you be more likely to talk with them about these issues?
10) Do you think this BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide might help other women to feel
more comfortable talking about these issues with their health care providers?
11) Would you recommend this BFWHW Emotional Wellness Guide to your friends or
relatives?
12) Do you have any other comments or suggestions to make?

H-3