ABSTRACT
The focus group guide was initially drawn up in the English language. Key technical terms were translated into other languages using appropriate backtranslation procedures to ensure the cross-linguistic equivalence of the meanings of these terms, but the entire guide was not translated using strict back-translation because the focus groups were only semi-structured and the wordings used in the group discussions needed to be those that were clearest and most conversationally appropriate in the local language. The guide consisted of six main sections, each of which addressed a particular set of issues. Each section contained primary and secondary questions to elicit the required information from the participants. Questions were omitted when the participants had already provided the required information, and moderators elicited additional information by asking appropriate follow-up questions according to the participants’ responses.
