Deadline for Health: The Media’s Response to Covering HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria in Africa
Qualitative Research

Qualitative research was conducted in one-on-one interviews and focus groups with five categories of people - journalists, health policy makers, health-related nongovernmental organizations, health professionals and members of the public.

The in-depth interviews involved a series of face-to-face, one-on-one sessions using a standardized interviewer-administered question guide in which views, experiences and suggestions were elicited. A total of 99 people took part in the one-on-one interviews, an average of four people per category per country. Participants were selected to represent a range of perspectives. In selecting public representatives, for example, attempts were made to include an equal number of men and women; young people between ages 16 and 24; business people; professionals such as schoolteachers; and sex workers (where it was possible to recruit them). Health professionals and practitioners of “traditional” or “folk” medicine were included in both focus groups and face-to-face interviews. Media representatives in the focus groups and interviews included radio and TV decision makers and practitioners.

For the focus groups, it was difficult to achieve 100 percent attendance of those identified for inclusion. Sessions would be called several times before a representative number would be obtained. One of the reasons for the difficulty was lack of interest in traveling from one end of the city to another to volunteer information without financial compensation. In the end, 281 people participated.