title: Exploring young patients’ perspectives on  rehabilitation care: methods and challenges  of organizing focus groups for children  and adolescents.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In research on quality of care, the experiences of children and (pre)adolescents are usually assessed by asking their parents. However, these young patients may have preferences of their own, and their experiences do not necessarily concur with those of their parents. Therefore, our research aimed to give young patients an opportunity to speak up for themselves.
  
  
  METHODS
  Focus group meetings and online focus groups were organized for two age groups (8–11 and 12–15 years) of young patients from two Dutch rehabilitation centres, with the use of a tailored interview technique. The feasibility and applicability of both types of focus groups were assessed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For both types of focus groups, recruitment proved a major problem. The focus group meetings with (pre)adolescents proved both feasible and applicable in obtaining information regarding the preferences and experiences towards rehabilitation care. Regarding children's meetings, there were mixed results. The setting suited most of them, but some were more anxious. In general, online focus groups were less successful than expected for both age groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Possibilities for enhancing the recruitment rate should be considered, as the low participation rates limited generalizability of focus group results. The tailored design proved useful for obtaining relevant input from (pre)adolescents through meetings, but, especially for children, repeated meetings or other locations (e.g. at home) could be considered. This may make participants more at ease. For both age groups, the online focus groups proved far less useful, in terms of participation.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Krol
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sixma
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meerdink
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wiersma
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rademakers
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D009426:Netherlands / Q000453:epidemiology; D010358:Patient Participation / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057240:Patient Preference; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012047:Rehabilitation Centers / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012931:Social Environment