Assignment: Analyzing Focus Group Findings

Imagine that two focus groups have been conducted in an Asian American and immigrant community in a large urban city. The rationale of conducting the qualitative study was because it has been noted that many Asian Americans and immigrants are reluctant to seek mental health services. To further understand this issue, service providers including social workers, counselors, doctors, and nurses were recruited to discuss the barriers in implementing mental health services targeted to Asian Americans and immigrants. After the focus groups were transcribed, two research assistants were hired to conduct a content analysis of the transcripts. Refer to the Week 5 Handout: Content Analysis of Focus Groups.

As the social worker, you have been asked to analyze the focus group data and are charged with working with an advisory board in the community to formulate social work practice recommendations using the ecological model.

To prepare for this Assignment, review Week 5 Handout: Content Analysis of Focus Groups.

By Day 7

Submit a 3-4-page report of the following:

1. Discuss the themes found in the Week 5 Handout: (see below) Content Analysis of Focus Groups. Based on this data, what is your analysis of the current barriers to services?
2. Create two social work recommendations to address a current barrier and explain how the recommendation proposed addresses the findings.
3. Discuss how you would collaborate with the research stakeholders (e.g. service providers and community members) to ensure that the data are interpreted accurately and that the practice recommendations made will be culturally appropriate.
4. Critically reflect on your own culture and explain how your cultural values and beliefs may have influenced how you interpreted the focus group data. What specific cultural knowledge do you think you need to obtain to conduct culturally sensitive research with this group?

Support the assignment with references using assigned readings and/or additional scholarly literature.

Week 5 Handout:

Content Analysis of Focus Groups 1Research Question 1: What are the barriers in implementing mental health services in the AsianAmerican community?Research Design: Qualitative, DescriptiveResearch Method: Focus groupsPatient Related BarriersSocial Stigma Associated with Mental Illness“….but also a lot of my patients have a fear of going to psychiatrists because of the socialstigma ….” and most of them have financial difficulty and have to pay an additional feeto pay for psychiatry. (DN, pg. 1)Financial Difficulties“….but also a lot of my patients have a fear of going to psychiatrists …. and most ofthem have financial difficulty and have to pay an additional fee to pay forpsychiatry.” (DN, pg. 1)Characteristics of the Asian patientMistrustful of mental health“I found it easier sometimes to refer them to someone else because a lot of timesI find that the Chinese patients are unwilling to open up or trust.” (TPW, pg.2)“we have to see why Asians go to see a health care provider, forget aboutwhether the mental health profession, or even a regular clinician. Why does thepatient see the provider..is it because they have seen a chinese herbalist and havefailed and have used their last efforts to see a western doctor, that will puttremendous expectations on this relationship, as opposed to someone whocomes to see the doctor for the first time and has faith that the Westerndoctor.” (Anthony, pg. 7)Don’t Ask for Assistance“It is hard to get them ask for help and ….. “ (TPW, pg. 2)Patient’s View of Mental Health Provider as Last Resort“we have to see why Asians go to see a health care provider, forget about whether themental health profession, or even a regular clinician. Why does the patient see theprovider..is it because they have seen a chinese herbalist and have failed and haveused their last efforts to see a western doctor, that will put tremendous expectations onthis relationship, as opposed to someone who comes to see the doctor for the first timeand has faith that the western doctor.” (Anthony, pg. 7)Week 5 Handout: Content Analysis of Focus Groups 2Service Provider Related Barriers“Despite all the training I have found that working with Chinese populations there are a lot ofbarriers I am finding that it is not as easy working with them.” (TPW, pg. 2)“Pass the Buck theme”I found it easier sometimes to refer them to someone else because a lot of times I find thatthe Chinese patients are unwilling to open up or trust. (TPW, pg. 2)Lack of training/skills/expertise“….and I find that I struggle with my own skills and I am trying to get some help inbeing a better primary care provider and getting my skills more fine tuned for thepopulation that I work with.” (TPW, pg. 2)“On the Western provider side, we noticed that when a provider is confronted with aWestern patient they are reluctant to enter areas because they are not really sure if thatbehavior is natural to that culture so that while they know pathology on the onehand they are not sure if what they are seeing is pathological. I remember one indianpsychiatrist said that a schizophrenic in india is the same schizophrenic in NY but youknow there are excuses sometimes and avoidance so educating the general providerconcerning what really can be expected is very important.” (MAC, pg. 8)“My comment is very similar, there are very big knowledge gaps for providers andwhat providers bring to the situation…” (JK, pg. 8)Cultural Assumptions“well what you have to think about is other areas, our own cultural biases. There arecertain things that I make assumptions on without even knowing it just because ofwhat I know growing up or and I think these are areas we need to address.”(Ernesto, pg. 7)Systems BarriersPrimary Care is the Access Point for Patients with Mental Disorders“….primary care as sort of the gatekeeper those are the guys that are picking upthe symptoms and so I sort of see that this is a good project to enhance ourunderstanding of this population.” (AN, pg. 2)Changing Financial Systems“Another issue is that there are financial issues that primary physicians often see thatthere is cost shifting going on that psychiatry or whomever else is telling us to do thisnew activity that is really shifting a responsibility” (LR, pg. 4)Week 5 Handout: Content Analysis of Focus Groups 3Changing of Responsibilities“Another issue is that there are financial issues that primary physicians often see thatthere is cost shifting going on that psychiatry or whomever else is telling us to do thisnew activity that is really shifting a responsibility” (LR, pg. 4)Professional Medical/Psychiatry CultureDiffering Cultures and Ideologies Within Medical Profession“one major barrier is that there is a difference in physician culture that an internalistperceives a different way of treating a patient than a family care doctor and thepediatrician looks at it differently than an internalist and that certain cultures when theyhave certain specialty referral systems will feel differently when they specialty referralsystem is used less frequently, and we have found them being treated much differently”(LR, pg.4)Miscellaneous“we tend to forget that the mental health problems are a spectrum, they may not benecessarily psychosis or dementia, manic depression, they may not be a DSM 4 diagnosis,they may be life style related , they are a state of flux it is a spectrum, when a women is havinginfertility when a women loses a pregnancy when a women delivers a baby and it is another girlbut she wanted a boy, or when she delivers a baby it is what she wanted but the constraints, butthe burden is too much, so it can gyn issues it could be ob issues but they are not dsm categoriesand I think that a barrier is that we do not acknowledge the existence of these kinds of things…”(IH, pg. 6)“The other big thing that I think of is the other side of the spectrum which is when we do seethese patients and when we do have the luxuries of identifying these issues that I have justoutlined that we try to squeezed these people into the diagnoses that I just described so wemake it into an anxiety disorder or we make it into a depression when it could be just life stylerelated or cultural related..” (IH, pg. 6)