Focus group discussion: Application to asthmatic children

The main objective of this research was to analyze the needs that parents a nd asthmatic children have about the asthma disease, such as school materia ls, information, and others. The instrument used to collect the data was th e Focus Group Discussion technique. Nine groups of children between seven a nd twelve years old, together with their parents, were investigated in Madr id, Spain. A video which included information about asthma disease was show n to the children and their parents. Reactions to the video were studied. T he Focus Group Discussion technique makes easier to evoke the answers of bo th, children and parents, showing explicitly the way they live the disease, and the needs and lacks of information they have. In this research we have focused on the group composition, the role of group moderator, discussion topics, key questions to initiate the discussion, and other preliminary dat a. Results obtained, and pros and cons of the Focus Group Discussion techni que are discussed.