A Focus Group Approach in Gaining Oral Health Knowledge, Perceptions and Practices Among Parents and Guardians in Two Primary Schools in South Wales, UK

This case study describes qualitative research using a focus group methodology of eight parents to explore the perceptions and knowledge in relation to dental health, risk factors for dental disease and their role in oral health promotion of their primary school children. The two primary schools involved are positioned and serve both affluent and deprived populations in South Wales. The research team will provide the reader with a focus on the definition and main principles of a focus group, justification for why it is used in this study as well as details relating to the conducting of the focus group and the data analysis. The case study will also present the methodological challenges the research team faced in relation to the recruitment of participants, the group composition and the facilitation of the group. For the purpose of this paper, the facilitator is defined as the interviewer and the moderator is defined as the member of the research team who does not participate and who observes and makes notes during the focus group.