Interaction between participants in focus groups with older patients and general practitioners

Area of Science:

• Social Sciences
• Qualitative Research Methods
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Focus group research often highlights group interaction as a key benefit, yet this aspect is infrequently detailed in studies.
• Methodological understanding of focus group dynamics requires empirical examination of participant interaction.

Purpose of the Study:

• To enhance methodological knowledge of focus group research through an empirical application of the Lehoux, Poland, and Daudelin interaction analysis template.
• To analyze and compare group interaction patterns between older patients and general practitioners (GPs) in focus groups.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 18 focus groups in Sweden (12 with older patients, 6 with GPs).
• Applied the Lehoux, Poland, and Daudelin template for analyzing interaction within focus groups.
• Combined interaction analysis with content analysis to contextualize data.

Main Results:

• General practitioners identified shared professional identity, forming a cohesive group.
• Older patients primarily shared a common focus, differing from a true group dynamic.
• The Lehoux, Poland, and Daudelin template was user-friendly, with minor challenges in discerning participants' explicit/implicit motivations.
• Integrating interaction analysis provided deeper insights into the data's contextual origins.

Conclusions:

• The Lehoux, Poland, and Daudelin template is a valuable tool for analyzing focus group interaction, offering nuanced understanding beyond content alone.
• Distinguishing between shared focus and true group formation is crucial for interpreting focus group dynamics, particularly in diverse participant populations.
• Interaction analysis significantly enriches qualitative data interpretation by clarifying the context of data generation.