Parent FG

Parent/Guardian Focus Group Guide

Form Approved

              OMB # 0990-0459

              Expiration Date: 08/31/2023

OIDP Social Norming of Pediatric Vaccines Campaign

Materials Testing – Parent Focus Group Guide

March 17, 2022

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 0990-0459. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 90 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, to review and complete the information collection. If you have comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, OS/OCIO/PRA, 200 Independence Ave., S.W., Suite 336-E, Washington D.C. 20201, Attention: PRA Reports Clearance Officer

Note: Consent will be obtained during the recruitment and enrollment process, but it is also incorporated into the introduction of the discussion guides. Given that the discussions are being conducted digitally, we also will obtain verbal consent from all parent participants before beginning the discussions.

Welcome and Zoom Instructions (5 minutes)

Note: This portion of the focus group will include basic logistics information related to the Zoom platform.

Parent Discussion Consent and Audio Recording Permissions (5 minutes)

Hello, thank you for taking the time to participate in today's discussion. My name is [NAME] and I am a [ROLE] at The MayaTech Corporation, working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Infectious Disease and HIV/AIDS Policy (OIDP) to lead this discussion. OIDP is developing a communications campaign about childhood vaccination and has asked us to conduct a series of group discussions with parents to help OIDP better understand what parents think about materials developed for the campaign. The campaign is designed to encourage parents to catch up on routine childhood vaccination and address vaccine misinformation among parents.

Your participation in the discussion will help us better understand the thoughts and experiences related to routine childhood vaccination recommendations among parents with children under 5 years old OR ages 5–8.

Before we begin the discussion, I am going to go through informed consent. Your participation in this discussion does not involve any risks that are not ordinarily encountered in daily life. Your participation is voluntary, and you have the right to stop the discussion or refrain from answering any questions. By agreeing, you are acknowledging that you understand your rights as a participant and consent to participate.

[NAME] will be taking notes to capture the key themes in our discussion. However, if you are willing, we would also like to audio record the conversation. The audio recording is for our use only, to ensure our notes are accurate, and we will delete the recording at the end of the project. Your full name will not be used in the report. During the discussion, we ask that you only use your first name or a nickname.

I want to assure you that even if we do record the conversation, we will not attribute what you specifically say when we summarize or share our findings. Again, we will not include your name or other identifying information in any written reports. We want you to think of this as a safe environment for sharing your opinions and feelings about the questions we raise. The whole point is to hear your perspective on the materials.

The discussion will last approximate 90 minutes. If you need to take a break or leave briefly, please feel free to do so.

We know that you are busy and appreciate your time today. At the conclusion of the discussion, we will let you know about how to receive the incentive as a token of appreciation for your participation.

Do you have any questions at this time?

Does everyone consent to participate and give permission to record the discussion?
Facilitator will note at the beginning of the recording that all participants have consented to recording.

Ground Rules (5 minutes)

Before we get going, I’d like to share a few ground rules:

• Some of my colleagues are also on the call, and they will be observing our discussion.

• My role today is to help us stay on the right track and ensure that we complete this session within the allotted time frame. That means it may not be possible for everyone to answer every question, and that is okay. There will be an opportunity at the end of the call to share your opinion if there was something you did not have a chance to say before.

• There are no right or wrong answers. All comments, positive and negative, what you know and don’t know, are important.

• I request that we all respect each other’s opinions, even if there are areas of disagreement.

• Please feel free to speak without raising your hand, but please speak one at a time.

• You are welcome to respond to each other as well as to me.

• If you need to step away for a moment, feel free to do so, but please come back as soon as possible because all opinions are important.

• Please turn off or silence your mobile devices if possible.

• I am not a medical doctor nor an expert on vaccines, and I did not create any of the materials that we review today. I am here to hear your opinions and suggestions related to the materials for parents such as yourselves.

Facilitated Discussion (75 minutes)

1. General Experiences with Getting Routine Vaccines for Children [Under Age 5 or Ages 5–8] (10 minutes)

Today, we are discussing materials to encourage parents such as yourself to get caught up on the routine vaccines for their young children [under age 5 OR ages 5–8]. We will not be discussing COVID-19 vaccination today and ask that you respond as it related to routine vaccines for children, such as chickenpox, measles/mumps/rubella (MMR), polio, and hepatitis. After a brief discussion about your perceptions of childhood vaccinations in general and the perceptions of other parents in your community about childhood vaccinations, we will show you some materials for which we would like your reaction and suggestions for improvement, if applicable.

1. First, tell us about how you feel about vaccinations for children [under age 5 OR ages 5–8].

2. In general, how open are other parents you know to getting their children [under age 5 OR ages 5–8] vaccinated?

Probe: Are there certain characteristics of parents who are most open? Least open? For example, mothers vs. fathers, first-time parents, racial/ethnic groups, religious groups?

Probe: Are there certain characteristics about the children whose parents are most receptive? Least receptive?

3. What materials do you use (printed materials, websites, social media sites, or other sources) to find information about childhood vaccinations?

4. Have you noticed any changes in how open parents you know are to childhood vaccinations over the last year? If so, what do you believe are the reasons for those changes?

2. Feedback on Materials for Parents (50 minutes)

Now I’d like to show you some specific materials being developed for parents that can be used to encourage them to get caught up on routine vaccines for their children, those [under age 5 OR ages 5–8].

OIDP is currently developing materials to help motivate parents to get their young children caught up on routine vaccines. OIDP is in the very early stages of developing these materials, and we have some draft concepts to share with you today. These concepts are not fully developed materials that you might see online or on a handout. They are just visual representations of some ideas that might later be used to develop social media posts, online ads, and website resources.

I’d like to show you [two OR three] different concepts to get your opinions on them. We will be looking at two materials for each concept.

Let’s start with Concept 1. Again, these are not designed to be fully developed materials – they are just concepts that could be developed into materials later. I’m going to show each material and then ask you some questions to gather your feedback. Then we will do the same for the [second OR second and third] concept(s).

Moderator to display each stimulus individually, then ask the following questions for each. Questions do not have to be asked in the same order for each stimulus.

5. What is your main takeaway from this material?

6. Let’s talk about the different parts of the material for a moment.

   1. Is the material clear and easy to understand?

Is anything confusing?

What can be done to make it clearer?

2. For groups with homogenous race/ethnicity: Are there any particularly sensitive or controversial aspects of the material?

3. Is the language used relevant for you?
   What would make it more relevant?
   
   

4. Are the images appropriate? What about the colors, fonts, and graphics?

5. What could be improved?
   Why does it need to be improved?
   Do you have any other suggestions for improving this material?

7. REMOVE STIMULUS FROM SCREEN AND SAY:
   Tell me what you recall about the material you just viewed.

   1. Does this material motivate you to get caught up on your child’s routine vaccinations?

      1. What would it motivate you to do?

      2. Why does this not motivate you (if applicable)?

2. What is the strongest point of the material?

   1. Which aspect of the material would have the strongest appeal to parents?

   2. Which aspects of the material have the greatest potential to encourage parents to get caught up on their child’s vaccinations?

8. To what extent do you believe this material will be useful for you? Why or why not?

9. Would you share the takeaways from this material with your friends or peers (other people with children [under age 5 OR ages 5–8])? Why or why not?

10. Exclusively for parents in the homogenous race/ethnicity groups:

    1. Do you have suggestions for making this material more culturally appropriate? What about the language?

3. Perceptions About Credible or Trusted Sources of Information About How to Support Vaccination Decisions for Parents (10 minutes)

11. What source or sources do you trust to help you with making decisions about whether to get your children [under age 5 OR ages 5–8] vaccinated or caught up on their vaccinations?

Probe: If not mentioned: What about CDC or other governmental sources? How do you view these?

12. Is there anything your child’s provider could have done to help you stay up-to-date on the recommended vaccines?

Probe: Given you more resources (if so, what kind)? Spent more time answering questions? Sent reminders?

13. How about your friends or other parents in your community who also have children [under age 5 OR ages 5–8]—where do they go for information?

Probe: If not mentioned: What about CDC or other governmental sources? How do they view these?

4. Close (5 minutes)

14. Is there anything else you would like to share with us about improving these materials?

Probe: I have asked you all the questions that I have today. Are there any final thoughts or suggestions?

Thank you all so much for participating today. Your thoughts and opinions will be very useful in helping OIDP refine these materials for parents of young children to talk about and make decisions about routine vaccinations. We will contact you each individually about receiving your incentive. Thank you and have a good day/evening.

7