Both the survey and focus groups addressed the issue of birthplace decision-making.
Topics of the focus groups addressed diet, physical activity and stress.
Phase 1 (RCT of e-learning modules versus paper reading) addressed our first research question (RQ1) and phase 2 (focus groups) addressed the second (RQ2).
Focus groups addressed the change in confidence, overall curriculum design, ease of completing the MCQ exam and OSCEs and the relevance of these assessments.
The three focus groups addressed five main topics: knowledge of modes of transmission; knowledge and beliefs about symptoms of TB; knowledge and beliefs about effective treatment for TB and opinions about the most appropriate measures for TB prevention; main sources of information about TB; and attitudes towards patients with TB.
The main themes from the comments were consistent with results from surveys and focus groups addressing similar issues, which suggest that on-line comments do provide a reliable source of qualitative data on attitudes and perceptions of issues that emerge in a health crisis.
In addition, 142 children and 45 adults participated in focus groups addressing protection issues and the effects of programmes.
In the US, a small number of participants (n = 4) were recruited from prior face-to-face focus groups addressing patients' concerns and experiences with oily skin.
For instance, focus groups addressing fruits and vegetables examined parents' attitudes toward eating these foods, barriers to serving these foods, and strategies parents use to overcome barriers to serving these foods.
Most parents in the 9 focus groups addressing fruits and vegetables (n = 36) felt it was important for children to eat these foods for health reasons (" play a big part in health, growth, eyesight, and hearing", " help [the] digestive system").
The literature on focus groups addresses this point by emphasizing the importance of contrary opinions; and in its methodology, often explicitly requests opinions different from those being expressed [ 29].
