Engaging Without Exposing: Use of a Fictional Character to Facilitate Mental Health Talk in Focus Groups With Men Who Have Been Subject to the Criminal Justice System

In an effort to encourage men with experience of being subject to the criminal justice system to contribute to focus group discussions on the sensitive topic of mental health, while also doing our utmost to protect them from discomfort or risk of exploitation, we used a novel technique involving the...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inQualitative health research Vol. 28; no. 13; pp. 2102 - 2114
Main Authors Owens, Christabel, Carter, Mary, Shenton, Deborah, Byng, Richard, Quinn, Cath
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.11.2018
SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Anxiety - psychology
Criminal justice system
Criminals - psychology
Depression - psychology
Discomfort
Exploitation
Focus groups
Focus Groups - methods
Forensic Psychology - methods
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Ill-Housed Persons
Male
Men
Mens health
Mental Disorders - psychology
Mental Disorders - therapy
Mental Health
Mental Health Services
Methods
Middle Aged
Patient Acceptance of Health Care
Personality
Qualitative research
Tape Recording
United Kingdom
Young Adult
United Kingdom
vignette
marginalized or vulnerable populations
qualitative
prisons
focus groups
prisoners
Britain
mental health and illness
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Summary:In an effort to encourage men with experience of being subject to the criminal justice system to contribute to focus group discussions on the sensitive topic of mental health, while also doing our utmost to protect them from discomfort or risk of exploitation, we used a novel technique involving the creation of a fictional character, supplemented by an audio-recorded vignette. We studied the role played by this technique in achieving our stated aims of “engaging without exposing.” In this article, we report on the use of this technique in three focus groups, showing how in very different ways it shaped the interaction between participants and generated crucial insights into the lives and service needs of each group. We conclude that the technique may lend itself to being used in focus groups with other marginalized or seldom-heard populations.
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ISSN:1049-7323
1552-7557
DOI:10.1177/1049732318785359