Use of focus group methodology to develop an asthma self-management program useful for community-based medical...

Area of Science:

• Health Services Research
• Medical Education
• Translational Research

Background:

• Academic medical centers develop health education programs that often fail to reach community clinical settings.
• Effective strategies are needed to translate research findings into practical, widely applicable health programs.
• Disseminating university-based health education programs to diverse healthcare environments presents significant challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To revise a university-based asthma self-management program for community physician use.
• To enhance the practicality and reduce the resource demands of an existing health education intervention.
• To explore the utility of focus group techniques in program revision for clinical settings.

Main Methods:

• Focus group discussions were employed with community physicians from various specialties.
• Physician feedback was gathered on the components and practicality of an existing asthma self-management program.
• A revised, briefer, and less costly intervention was developed based on physician input.

Main Results:

• Physicians identified time and resource constraints with the original program, deeming some elements impractical.
• A revised asthma self-management program was developed incorporating physician feedback.
• Eighty-eight percent of physicians evaluating the revised program expressed willingness and ability to implement it in their practices.

Conclusions:

• Focus group techniques provide valuable formative evaluation data for program revision.
• Physician-informed adaptations are crucial for the successful dissemination of health education programs.
• The revised asthma self-management program demonstrates high potential for adoption in community clinical settings.