An Evaluation of the Use of Focus Groups in Services for Adults with Congenital Deafblindness

Abstract

This practice report is based on three practice-based projects which structured video analysis sessions using a focus group model. The aim of the projects was to improve the quality of services for adults with congenital deafblindness by supporting partner competence. The focus groups were composed of the partners of adults with deafblindness. The video analyses were guided by a consultant-moderator and based on two intervention models and a set of theoretical concepts described by Nafstad and Rødbroe in Communicative Relations (2015). The results of the semi-structured interviews and questionnaires indicated that the focus group members experienced more partner competence and that the group home became an environment where discussions on content were prioritized. Stable, positive, long-term effects could be achieved by systematic, ongoing implementation of the focus group model by qualified moderators and group home leaders. The positive effect of working with focus groups, where shared understanding and shared intervention goals are co-created in a continuous process, improved the quality of the services.