Form 4 Moderators Guide for Discussion with HCPs

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Expiration Date XX/XX/202X

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Federal COVID Response Audience Feedback Discussion – For use with group or individual conversations

Month 00, 2021 at 00:00 p.m. Eastern Time

A 60-minute listening session with

COVID-19 Healthcare Providers

SESSION OVERVIEW

Background (<5 minutes)

Participant Introductions (5 minutes)

COVID-19 Treatment and Clinical Trial Awareness (15 minutes)

Ad/Message Options (25 minutes)

Sources for Health Information (10 minutes)

MODERATOR’S GUIDE 

 

Please note: Participants have been asked to dial-in 5 to 10 minutes prior to the start of the discussion. During this time, the moderator will ensure that each participant can see the shared screen, consents to audio recording the conversation, and knows how to mute his or her phone when not speaking.  

Before we begin, can you/anyone NOT see the shared screen? If you cannot, please let me know now. 

 

A few items to review before joining today’s call: 

• Our discussion will be audio-recorded so that I can refer to the recording as needed for my report writing, and my colleague is also on the line to take notes. In addition, other project staff are on the line listening to today’s discussion. Does anyone object to this discussion being audio recorded? [Moderator to dismiss anyone who objects to the audio recording. Notetaker to press “record.”] 

• We will use first names only during today’s discussion, and I will report all findings from our conversation in summary form, never connecting an individual comment with an individual name.  

• We will use the findings from today’s discussion only to inform the development of a public health awareness and outreach effort.  

• Please mute your speakers when you are not speaking to minimize background noise.  

• There are no right or wrong answers to any of the questions I will be asking. Please be honest. 

• It is valuable for me to hear all points of view, so please talk respectfully, one at a time and let other participants finish what they’re saying before speaking. 

• Please state your first name before you make a statement.  

Do you/does anyone have any questions at this time?  

BACKGROUND [<5 minutes]

Good morning/afternoon/evening. Thank you for taking time to participate in this discussion. My name is [NAME], and I am going to facilitate our conversation. I am a trained moderator who works for IQ Solutions, a company contracted by the U.S. Federal COVID Response Team. The Federal COVID Response Team is a cross-agency partnership that includes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).

The main purpose of our discussion is to get your reactions to a few logo and ad options for a Federal COVID Response Team initiative aimed at educating people about clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.

Consent to Audio-Record

• We would like to audio-record this conversation so that when it comes time to write the summary report, we will have your actual words to ensure accuracy, if needed. However, you will not be identified in the report.

• Do I have your permission to audio-record this discussion? [Dismiss participant if they do not verbally consent.]

INDIVIDUAL DISCUSSION INTRODUCTION [Not to exceed 5 minutes]

Please introduce yourself briefly by letting us know:

1. The name that you would like me to use during this discussion—remember, no last names

2. Your professional title and specialty

3. Your city and state

4. Your general patient population demographics

GROUP DISCUSSION PARTICIPANT INTRODUCTIONS [Not to exceed 5 minutes]

I am aware that you are all healthcare providers who treat or work with COVID-19 positive patients. Please introduce yourself briefly by letting me know:

1. The name that you would like me to use during this discussion—remember, no last names

2. Your professional title and specialty

3. Your city and state

4. Your general patient population demographics

The facilitator will walk through each question below, probing for responses as needed and reorganizing the order of questions as necessary according to the organic flow of the conversation.

COVID-19 TREATMENT AND CLINICAL TRIAL AWARENESS [Not to exceed 15 minutes]

The facilitator will probe elements of the below questions based on participants’ awareness and experience, especially for returning participants.

Let’s begin with a few broad questions:

1. What effective therapeutics and treatments are you aware of for COVID-19?

2. Tell me about your experiences treating COVID-19 positive patients. Probe for whether they have prescribed COVID-19 treatments to these patients and willingness among patients to accept treatments.

Example probes:

• Have you prescribed COVID-19 treatments to any of your patients?

• What specific treatments? How effective were those treatments?

• What kind of patient? At what stage of disease? What’s the “typical patient profile” that you see who has COVID-19?

• How willing have these patients been to accept your COVID-19 treatment recommendations? Why?
  
  

Let’s briefly discuss clinical trials:

3. Have you ever recommended your patients enroll in a clinical trial for any health condition?

Example probes:

• How did you learn about that trial? (e.g. research manager, a colleague, information in electronic medical record, trial representative who contacted you)

• What piece of information or factor would you say ultimately made a patient accept/agree to enroll in a clinical trial?

• What would you say to another provider who had never recommended clinical trials to their patients?

4. Have you recommended your COVID-19 patients enroll in a clinical trial for COVID-19 therapeutic/treatment? Tell me about your patients’ willingness to participate and whether they enrolled.

5. What would motivate you to encourage a patient or their family member to participate in a COVID-19 treatment clinical trial? What would discourage you from sharing information about a clinical trial?

6. The most recent time you looked for information about COVID-19 [clinical trials], where did you go first? [Listen for online search, a hospital or health system [e.g., Johns Hopkins], medical websites, medical journals, colleagues, continuing education activities]

Example probes:

• Did you look or go anywhere else that time? Where else did you look or go?

• Why did you look there for information?

• What keywords did you use (e.g., specific symptoms)?

7. What else would you want to know about clinical trials for treating patients with COVID-19 or anything else related to this topic?

AD OR MESSAGE OPTIONS [Not to exceed 25 minutes]

As mentioned earlier in our discussion, the U.S. Federal COVID Response Team is developing an initiative to build awareness about clinical trials for the treatment of COVID-19.

As part of this effort, and why we are here today, we want to get your reactions to a few message and/or ad options for this initiative. As you might know, an ad is a memorable phrase or motto that usually appears alongside a logo or image. A logo is a symbol or design that can represent a brand or idea. The messages and/or ads I will show you today are not final products. We are looking to get your reactions to the basic overall designs and messages.

Let’s begin with the [messages, ad options], which you will see one by one on the shared screen. After we show each option, two poll questions will appear as “pop-ups” on your computer screen. When a poll appears, please take a few seconds to “click” your answer. Please be honest in your responses.

Notetaker to advance the slides and display relevant polls after each logo.

Let’s get started by looking at a few [messages, ad options] intended for healthcare providers.

AD or MESSAGE Option 1

POLL 1:

1. How understandable is this ad? Scale 1–5, “Not at all understandable to very understandable.” SHARE AND DISCUSS RESULTS.

2. How interested would you be in learning more after seeing this ad? Scale 1–5, “Not at all interested to very interested.” SHARE AND DISCUSS RESULTS.

I am now going to show you X other headline options for this ad. Imagine that these headlines would take the place of the current headline you see on the screen.

AD or MESSAGE Option X

POLL X

1. How understandable is this ad/message? Scale 1–5, “Not at all understandable to very understandable.

2. How interested would you be in learning more after seeing this ad/message? Scale 1–5, “Very interested to not at all interested.”

SHOW ALL ADS OR MESSAGES ON ONE SLIDE.

• Which ad/message is your favorite? Least favorite?

• What do you like/dislike about these ads/messages?

• What about these ads/messages was unclear? Alternative: What did you not understand?

• What, if anything, would you change about these ads/messages? Alternate: How would you make these ads/messages better? Probe for changes to messages, as well as images, colors, overall design, etc.

SOURCES FOR HEALTH INFORMATION [Not to exceed 10 minutes or remainder of discussion time, whichever is sooner]

A few more questions and then we will conclude today’s discussion.

1. Who would you trust most to give you or your patients information about effective therapeutics and treatments for COVID-19?

2. Who would you trust most to give you information about available opportunities for therapeutic and treatment clinical trials for COVID-19?

3. Where would you expect to see or learn about the campaign you heard about today?

1. What would be the most effective way to reach providers like you with information related to this campaign? (E.g., via membership organizations, on television, radio, podcasts, social media, a website.)

Probe for specifics (which organization, which podcast, which social media accounts, etc.)

Are there any additional comments or final thoughts you’d like to mention before we conclude?

Thank you so much for your valuable input. Your feedback will help us ensure this campaign reaches its audience effectively.

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