Running focus groups with elderly and disabled elderly participants

This paper is based on a study to determine the information needs of elderly, disabled elderly people, and of their carers, in the UK. Four focus groups were run with a total of 20 participants to identify major themes and aid in the creation of a questionnaire for a national survey. This paper does not describe the findings of the focus groups but reports on the lessons learned from running them, in the light of the increasing importance of such methods. A number of difficulties arose, most associated with age-related declines in sensory, perceptual, cognitive and communication abilities. These difficulties are described, together with the steps that need to be taken to eliminate, or at least ameliorate, them, so that this powerful method of collecting information can be used fruitfully on elderly and disabled elderly people.