Abstract

What is the value of focus groups: what happens when focus groups are used in conjunction with other research techniques? How can focus groups identify key problems: what happens when the main communication channel is, in large part, responsible for creating these problems? How can focus-group results be used: what is their role in developing strategic approaches to problems?
This article describes a case study that addresses these questions within the context of immunization in three African countries. We explain the project objectives and approach; describe the focus-group methodologies; present key focus-group results which revealed that health-worker behaviour was a key barrier to improving immunization coverage; outline strategic solutions developed from focus-group and other research findings; and discuss the relationship between focus-group and other research results in developing communication strategies.

Full Article Links

Links to the full article are given below.

• Focus-group research for family planning: lessons learned in Sub-Saharan Africa.