Purpose: The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign is conducting a study to produce one public service announcement (PSA) targeting parents and caregivers about underage drinking and other drug/substance use prevention. This focus group is being conducted on SAMHSA’s behalf by the “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign team in collaboration with EurekaFacts. The purpose of the focus group is to explore the relevance, understanding, relatability, and appeal of this PSA concept among parents/caregivers of children under age 21.
Procedures: If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will be in a group with 6-8 other parents and caregivers. During this focus group, you will be asked some questions regarding your opinions, comments, and suggestions about the visual and audio elements of the PSA, as well as the messages relevance and call to action.Participants will also complete an electronic worksheet during the session to help summarize your thoughts and opinions of the PSA. (No extra work will be asked of you outside of the 100 min focus group.) We will not be asking specific information about your alcohol or other drug/substance use or your child’s(ren’s) use. In addition to a facilitator who will ask questions and facilitate the discussion, a note taker to write down the ideas expressed within the group, and possibly some observers from the “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign will be in watch/listen mode only. We will also be recording the session to help clarify the information written down by the note takers, should there be any questions in summarizing the results. No personal information will be included in the notes; we are using first names only during the session.
Your participation is completely voluntary. You may withdraw from this assessment at any time without penalty. The estimated time for completing this focus group is approximately 100 minutes (about 1 hour and 40 minutes).
Benefits and Risks: Your participation may benefit you and other parents and caregivers by helping SAMHSA develop information that is relevant to parents and caregivers aiming to reduce underage drinking and other drug/substance use. No risk greater than those experienced in ordinary conversation are anticipated. Everyone will be asked to respect the privacy of the other focus group participants. All participants will be asked not to disclose anything said within the context of the discussion, but it is important to understand that other people in the group with you may not keep all information private.
Privacy: Stakeholder feedback will be analyzed by EurekaFacts and the “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign team and reported to SAMHSA. No individual participant will be identified or linked to the results. Focus group records, including this consent form submitted by you, may be inspected by SAMHSA or the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) which oversees all research conducted on behalf of government funded agencies. The results of this assessment will be used to improve the “Talk. They Hear You.”® National Media Campaign and as part of the national evaluation and reporting. Your identity will not be disclosed. All information obtained in this assessment will be protected. All materials will be stored in a secure location by the “Talk. They Hear You.”® campaign and access to files will be restricted to paid professional staff.
If you are interested in participating, please click on the following link to answer a few questions and see if you are eligible to take part: