Focus Groups

Executive Summary

Four focus groups (two with seniors from Connecticut and New York and one each with Latino migrant workers and parents of school age children) were held during the Winter and Spring of 2004-2005. The purpose of the focus groups was to learn about community members’ perceptions and experiences as consumers of health care and also about their unmet health care needs.

Both Connecticut and New York seniors identified independence and relationships with others as important aspects of health. The seniors used a combination of self-care techniques and social service programs to maintain their health. There was concern that there is no central information repository for all health and community resources.

Participants in the Latino group identified concrete obstacles to maintaining good health. Unfamiliarity with the American health care system and the English language were major obstacles in accessing care. Likewise, limited financial resources and insurance coverage coupled with a sickness stigma prevented many people in the Latino community from seeking timely care for treatable conditions. The dominant theme in this focus group was an interest in learning more about health issues and the health care system.

The parents with school age children identified affordable health insurance was a major issue. This group valued their privacy, and often sought health care across state lines to preserve their confidentiality and anonymity. They also valued a trusting and collaborative relationship with their practitioners, convenient access to care and information and diversity of thought among their health care practitioners.

Each of the groups offered program recommendations to address the problems that they identified. Overlapping ideas included greater and more organized dissemination of information and the creation of family community centers that would increase access to social, emotional and financial support while reducing the stigma associated with receiving help.

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