Request to Principals to Host Focus Group

Attachment 4 –

Request to Principals to Host Focus Group Information Collection

[SCHOOL CONSENT: TO BE EMAILED TO SCHOOL PRINCIPALS / ADMINISTRATORS AFTER THEY AGREE TO HOST THE ONLINE SURVEYS, AND ONLY IN SELECT MARKETS, from NIDA Contractor Strategic Research Associates, Spokane, Washington]

Dear PRINCIPAL NAME,

With reference to your consent to assist in the evaluation study of the PEERx dissemination videos of the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), thank you for assisting us with conducting the surveys. It was a successful exercise, and we are now ready to roll out conduct of the focus groups using students. Some of your students indicated an interest in the focus groups, and we would like your assistance with conducting the focus group(s) with them at your school. This activity is the second component of the NIDA study to improve the message of the PEERx videos that we wrote you about, when we requested your student’s participation in the survey component of this study. The focus group discussion will be conducted by NIDA’s Contractor –Strategic Research Associates of Spokane Washington. In these group sessions we will discuss with the students their opinions of the NIDA PEERx videos and their messaging around preventing prescription drug misuse. No sensitive information will be asked in these sessions, no medical issues controlled under HIPPA will be discussed. The students’ participation is completely voluntary. Students will be screened for participation.

We need the use of your school facilities to conduct the session(s), and your assistance in distributing instructions to the students and their parents. An incentive of $20-$30 in educational gifts for the school will be offered to your school if it is selected for the focus group and will be able to make a school room available for conduct of the focus group. And a healthy snack will be offered to focus group participants if the focus group sessions are held during the school lunch period or at the end of classes for the day.

Below are specifics of our plan, to give you an idea of what we need from you:

• _______students from your school e-indicated interest in focus group participation, and we need to conduct the consent and screening process for this. Enclosed are information materials for distribution to these students. Please distribute these to the students named.

• We will hold two or three focus group(s) at your school, either during class time, or commencing immediately after school, whichever you prefer. We plan using 10 to 15 students per discussion (that is, about 24 to 36 students) and are confident we can do this during a single afternoon. The times for the groups will be scheduled according to your time preferences and availability of your classroom(s).

• Students who attend will be provided a light healthy snack if the time is after school or in the lunch period - we can work with your school food service personnel to be sure that the snacks provided meet your state's healthy eating standards.

SRA is a professional market research company, and will bring the technology and supplies for conducting these sessions. We greatly appreciate your provision of the school facilities that we need, at a convenient time for the students, to facilitate their participation.

Please let us know that your school can host our focus group(s). If you have any questions please contact me at Strategic Research Associates, phone (888) 554-6960 x203, or email at joannev@strategicresearch.net. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Joanne Vega, MBA

Survey Consultant for the study

Strategic Research Associates

Spokane, Washington