Using Written Vignettes in Focus Groups Among Older Adults to Discuss Oral Health as a Sensitive Topic
- 1 August 2008
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Qualitative Health Research
- Vol. 18 (8), 1145-1153
- https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732308320114
Abstract
When the mouth yields pain and distress, it can impact psychosocially the lives of older adults and might constitute a sensitive topic for open disclosure. In this article, we describe our use of a written vignette in focus groups for discussion of oral health and disablement. Six focus groups were conducted with 42 older men and women with an average age of 75 years who were purposefully selected through advertisements posted in community centers and retirement homes. In discussions lasting for an average of 90 min, groups of up to 9 participants commented positively and negatively on the vignette's story and voluntarily discussed their personal experiences, family histories, and testimonies about the mouth and coping and adapting strategies to disabilities. The discussion about oral health can be sensitive, but the vignette shifted the focus away from the participants and allowed them to share personal experiences with oral health and disablement.Keywords
This publication has 30 references indexed in Scilit:
- Elders assessment of an evolving model of oral healthGerodontology, 2007
- Using Focus Groups to Improve the Validity of Cross-National Survey Research: A Study of Physician Decision MakingQualitative Health Research, 2007
- Exploring the Use of Vignettes: From Validity to TrustworthinessQualitative Health Research, 2007
- An empirically derived population‐response model of the short form of the Oral Health Impact ProfileCommunity Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 2006
- Gender differences in health: a Canadian study of the psychosocial, structural and behavioural determinants of healthSocial Science & Medicine, 2003
- Comment: Concerns in the Analysis of Focus Group DataQualitative Health Research, 1995
- The Significance of SaturationQualitative Health Research, 1995
- Influence of age and gender on oral health and related behaviour in an independent elderly populationCommunity Dentistry and Oral Epidemiology, 1993
- Predicting Concerns for the Mouth among Institutionalized EldersJournal of Public Health Dentistry, 1991
- Focus Groups and the Nature of Qualitative Marketing ResearchJournal of Marketing Research, 1977