192 - Amplifying and Empowering the Voices of Older Adults and Caregivers through Focus Groups

Abstract Information: The Age-Friendly Focused Information and Resource Maps (AFFIRM) project takes into account the perspectives of older adults and their caregivers when accessing appropriate health-related information and resources to make informed decisions. We consider these perspectives best with the implementation of focus groups. Focus groups are important tools for obtaining rich data. Initially, trust must be established between the facilitator and the participants, as well as between all participants. This can seem like a daunting task with the general population but may be even more challenging with vulnerable populations. This research will include older adults aged 50+ and caregivers of any age. The facilitator should understand the heightened level of vigilance from participants in these populations. Most participants may come into the space feeling uneasy, especially if there is to be an audio and/or video recording. The job of the facilitator is to make all participants feel welcome and help them understand the purpose of the research at hand. Not only is the goal to make each participant feel as safe as possible before signing the consent to participate, but also to assure each participant that this research is voluntary, and any person can stop at any point without any consequences. The major purpose of this study will be to hear the perspectives of older adults and their caregivers about access to and utilization of health-related information and resources. Our goal is to amplify and empower the voices of these vulnerable populations in a group setting. The focus group instruments include the following categories of questions: demographics, health literacy, implicit bias, and cultural competence. After the initial start of the focus groups, the facilitator noticed that context and wording may not be the best fit. At this point, it is essential to introduce a new method of questioning for the best understanding of participants. Hence, process evaluation was implemented. The mechanism in which to gather the information is just importance as gathering the information in an effort to amplify voices of vulnerable populations as exhibited in this study.