Research Article Lessons Learned: One Experience With Focus Groups in a School Setting

ABSTRACT: 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 speci®c 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 ¯exible 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. Learn-ing more about children and their families can assist school nurses in planning and implementing interventions that enhance health and school achievement. KEY WORDS: focus groups, qualitative research, school nursin