Qualitative Focus Group Research Methods

How it works

Evidence quality

Highlighted claims

• The study recruited 56 participants across 15 focus groups spanning three Dutch healthcare organisations, with groups homogeneous by role. — Sexuality and sexual boundary violations in healthcare organisations: a qualitative focus group study in mental health and disability care in the Netherlands
• Focus groups were made homogeneous by role to promote psychological safety and allow role-specific experiences to surface. — Sexuality and sexual boundary violations in healthcare organisations: a qualitative focus group study in mental health and disability care in the Netherlands
• Analysis was inductive, with each researcher coding their own organisation's transcripts and the full team holding reflexive sessions to identify cross-organisational themes. — Sexuality and sexual boundary violations in healthcare organisations: a qualitative focus group study in mental health and disability care in the Netherlands
• The study's disability care participants had mild rather than severe intellectual disabilities, limiting generalisation to more complex disability populations. — Sexuality and sexual boundary violations in healthcare organisations: a qualitative focus group study in mental health and disability care in the Netherlands
• Individual factors such as sexual orientation and religion were not specifically explored, despite likely affecting how sexuality and SBV are experienced. — Sexuality and sexual boundary violations in healthcare organisations: a qualitative focus group study in mental health and disability care in the Netherlands
• Ten of the 15 focus groups were conducted online due to COVID-19 restrictions, and no notable difference in openness between online and in-person groups was observed, though an effect cannot be ruled out. — Sexuality and sexual boundary violations in healthcare organisations: a qualitative focus group study in mental health and disability care in the Netherlands