Aging Well in Communities: Conducting Aging Well Focus Groups

Focus groups provide nuanced, in-depth, qualitative information about the opinions and needs of a group or community as they relate to specific aging well issues. By conducting focus groups, you can gain more information about key issues identified in public forums; clarify survey data; and elicit input from important cultural or linguistic groups that were not well represented in other parts of your planning process.

A focus group is typically:

Conducted as a structured discussion among a small group
Guided by an experienced facilitator
Intended to gather opinions on a specific topic
Composed of participants who are carefully selected and usually share some common interests or characteristics (for instance, boomer-aged adults), but who are different enough to provide a variety of perspectives

Focus groups can be an important part of planning for aging well in your community. Our guide to focus groups will help you:

Understand how focus groups fit into your overall aging well initiative
Select participants and motivate them to attend
Choose the right facilitator
Develop effective questions
Plan for and conduct your focus group sessions
Evaluate the information that comes out of your focus groups

Download Conducting Aging Well Focus Groups (PDF)

Questions? Please contact us at (916) 646-8680 or ccp@civicpartnerships.org.