Attachment A10 - PMHCA FGD Overview Guide_Final

Attachment A10:

Family/Caregiver FGD Overview Guide - JBS

Health Resources and Services Administration Maternal and Child Health Bureau Pediatric Mental Health Care Access Program National Impact Study

March 2024

Family/Caregiver Focus Group Discussion (FGD) Overview Guide

Who are the researchers/funders for this study? The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) funded JBS International, Inc. (JBS) to conduct the study. JBS is not a part of HRSA or any other federal agency.

Purpose: The primary purpose of the Family/Caregiver FGD is to gather insights/opinions from family members/caregivers who have sought and/or received behavioral health services (mental health and/or substance use treatment services) for their child(ren) and/or adolescent(s) between the ages of 0 and 21 years regarding their experiences with:

• Behavioral health care access, receipt, and utilization

• Satisfaction with behavioral health care services

• Impact of the behavioral health services on their child(ren) and/or adolescent(s)

The information will be used to enhance our understanding of HRSA’s Pediatric Mental Health Care Access (PMHCA) program and may help both improve HRSA MCHB PMHCA programs and support future decisions regarding it and other, similar programs.

When/How will the FGDs be scheduled? The FGDs will take place in March–April 2025. Once JBS receives the contact information from all identified family members/caregivers, we will reach out to them to:

• Provide more information about participating

• Answer any questions about participating

• Collect demographic and other relevant information from the family member/caregiver (e.g., child/adolescent’s age, ZIP code)

• Provide instructions for giving informed consent to participate in the FGD and to be recorded, via DocuSign

Once JBS has contacted (or made attempts to contact) all identified family members/caregivers, they will be randomly selected to participate; this means that even if the family member/caregiver’s contact information is shared with JBS, they may not be selected to be in the study. Then the following steps will occur:

1. JBS will first group family members/caregivers based on the background/demographic information (e.g., child age, region) it collected over the phone and assign each family member/caregiver a number.

2. Then, JBS will use a number generator to randomly select individuals within each group to participate. Random selection will allow each person an equal chance of being selected to participate.

3. If selected, JBS will send them the consent form via DocuSign and, once signed, request them to sign up for an FGD timeslot. Participation is completely voluntary, and participants may withdraw at any time.

Format:

Each FGD will be:

• Conducted virtually (e.g., Microsoft Teams, Zoom)

• Approximately 60 minutes

• Recorded

• Conducted with between 5–7 family members/caregivers

Eligibility Criteria:

To participate, the individual must:

• Be 18 years of age or older

• Be a family member or caregiver who has sought and/or received behavioral health care for their child/adolescent between the ages of 0 and 21 years

• Have access to a phone, laptop, or tablet with internet

Incentive: Each participant will receive $25 for participating.

Interview Topics/Flow:

1. Participant Introductions: Participants will be:

   1. Encouraged to turn on their cameras during the FGD but not required

   2. Asked to share their first name (or a name they would like to be called during the discussion) and the age of their child(ren)/adolescent(s) but not required

2. Access, Receipt, and Utilization of Behavioral Health Care: Experiences discussing and getting behavioral health care

3. Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Health Services: Experiences communicating and understanding the child/adolescent’s provider

4. PMHCA Program Cost-Benefit: Impact of the behavioral health care on the child/adolescent and family

5. Family/Caregiver Satisfaction: Satisfaction with the child/adolescent’s behavioral health care