An Experience of Focus Groups Fieldwork Among Novice Nurses in the Eastern Visayas Region, Philippines

• Main Authors: Pagatpatan, Celso P, Jr., Ramirez, Caroline Mae, Perez, Amihan
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2015
• Subjects: Focus groups; nurses; research skills; Philippines; Nursing; Quantitative, Qualitative, Comparative, and Historical Methodologies
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/asmph-pubs/71; https://www.pna-ph.org/archives/philippine-journal-nursing/242-advancing-people-s-health-through-nursing-research
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

Focus group (FG) as a method of research is becoming popular in nursing. However, limited practical examples on the processes and skills required for its implementation in the Philippines to address the complexity of this method may prevent novice nurses to pursue more FG-based researches. For nurses and other health researchers who intend to use the FG, facilitation and note taking in FG discussions as well as transcribing and translating are important skills to master. Ways to enhance the quality of data should also be devised to improve trustworthiness of findings such as pre-testing of tools, conduct of debriefing sessions and, validation of translations and other data sources. Through appropriate methodological processes and examples, FG research is valuable in exploring and understanding nursing and health-related issues. This article showcases the experience of nine novice Philippine nurse researchers in their aim to achieve high quality FG study on access to maternal health services conducted in the Eastern Visayas region of the Philippines.