Using Focus Groups to Adapt Ethnically Appropriate, Information-Seeking and Recruitment Messages for a Prostate Cancer Screening Program for Men at High Risk

Focus groups are useful in checking health professional assumptions about health messages prior to developing awareness or recruitment advertisements or materials. There was an implied preference for “younger” models among Caucasian Americans. Radio and print messages were adapted using the focus group recommendations, i.e., focusing on familial themes, adding race-specific risk estimates and using younger-than-target group models.