Lessons learned: one experience with focus groups in a school setting

Focus group research is an effective way for school nurses to gain knowledge about a diverse range of issues that children in schools may face. It is a means to gather information about perceptions, feelings, points of view, and manners of thinking from a group of individuals about a specific topic. This article overviews focus groups as a research methodology and describes an experience of using them to gain information about low-income caretakers' knowledge of childhood nutrition. Several important lessons were learned from this study. These included the need to be flexible during the research process, to be creative in recruitment strategies, to maintain open communication with all the involved parties, and to share enthusiasm for the study. Learning more about children and their families can assist school nurses in planning and implementing interventions that enhance health and school achievement.