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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2014 Apr 7.
Published in final edited form as: Pediatr Allergy Immunol. 2011 Feb 20;22(6):575–582. doi: 10.1111/j.1399-3038.2011.01152.x

Table 1.

Focus Group Guide

  1. Let’s start with what information you think helped you the most to manage your child’s food allergy? Like the “AHA” moment for you.

    1. Where did you find “the answers” and how do you think it should be given to parents of newly diagnosed children to make the process a little bit easier, less stressful?

  2. Now, what resources did you find or develop that help you the most to manage your child’s food allergy?

    1. Where did you find it/them and how and when do you think it should be given to parents of newly diagnosed children?

    2. Are there resources that you have been disappointed with? What are the problems and how could things have been better?

  3. What skills do you think you have developed that help in managing food allergies?

    1. How, when, and where should parents of newly diagnosed children learn these skills?

  4. Let’s say we want to write the “essential or most important” things to know for food preparation at home for children with food allergies what would you include?

  5. What about the “very most important things to know” for “crisis” or emergency management and medication use for an allergic reaction?

  6. What about the most critical “need to know” information about shopping for foods?

  7. What problems, for example trouble spots you experienced and wished you knew about in advance?

    1. Would you warn newly diagnosed families about?

    2. How would you pass this information along?

  8. What about tips regarding dealing with health insurance, schools, ER, doctor’s office?

  9. If you learn that a friend’s child just has been diagnosed with food allergies, is there anything we have not talked about that you would warn her/him about?

  10. Is there anything you feel you have not been able to address yet regarding understanding and managing your child’s food allergy?

  11. Have you joined any support group?

    1. What has been your experience? Did it help?

    2. Have you heard of FAAN?

  12. Is there anything else regarding your experience managing your child’s food allergy that you think is important to share with us in our goal to create educational materials and supportive resources?