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Community Health Decision-Making: The Power of Focus Groups in Rural Communities
Becker KL*School of Entrepreneurship, University of North Dakota, USA
- *Corresponding Author:
- Karin L Becker
University of North Dakota, School of Entrepreneurship, Stop 8363
Grand Forks, ND 58202, USA
Tel: 701-777-3510
E-mail: Karin.becker@und.edu
Received date: July 10, 2017; Accepted date: July 28, 2017; Published date: July 31, 2017
Citation: Becker KL (2017) Community Health Decision-Making: The Power of Focus Groups in Rural Communities. J Community Med Health Educ 7:542. doi:10.4172/2161-0711.1000542
Copyright: © 2017 Becker KL. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
This study isolates the extent of influence primary and secondary data have on determining prioritized community health needs in rural communities. Specifically, it looks at the extent of influence qualitative data has on the decisionmaking process. To understand the determinants of decision making, significant health needs as identified in 16 community health needs assessments, which used the same mixed methods research design, were aggregated and analyzed. Findings show that health concerns stemming from qualitative sources were more likely to be selected as a significant need, particularly from focus groups. The findings highlight the importance of focus groups as vehicles for community empowerment and engagement. Implications for healthcare research design include the need to provide more outlets for community input, especially in rural settings.
