ACTIVE DUTY SATISFACTION FOCUS GROUPS

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• ACTIVE DUTY SATISFACTION FOCUS GROUPS
• .

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Qualitative Research

• Advantages
• Allows for in-depth examination of individual
  attitudes
• Provides degree of nuance that is difficult to
  replicate in quantitative research
• Data represents stakeholders own voices
• Limitations
• Does not use standardized measures
• No statistical basis for generalization of
  findings
• Highly sensitive to researcher interpretation

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Focus Group Methodology

• Focus groups with officers, junior and senior
  enlisted personnel (all under 45 years old)
• Participants were prescreened for at least a
  minimum level of dissatisfaction with MHS
• 12 groups conducted at a diverse set of 6 CONUS
  MTFs

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Selected MTFs

• MTFs (Bases)
• Womack AMC(Ft. Bragg)
• 1st Med. Grp.(Langley AFB)
• NH Lemoore(NAS Lemoore)
• 30th Med. Grp. (Vandenberg AFB)
• NH Corpus Christi (NAS Corpus Christi)
• Reynolds ACH (Ft. Sill)

• Groups
• Jr. Enlisted Officers
• Sr. Enlisted Officers
• Sr. Enlisted (2 groups)
• Jr. Enlisted Officers
• Jr. Enlisted
• Jr. Enlisted Sr. Enlisted Officers

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Topics Addressed

• Access Issues
• Quality of Care
• Communications
• Expectations

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Purpose of Study

• Identify components of TRICARE that ADSM find
  most dissatisfying
• We deserve the right to have good health care...
  people say they dont pay you enough to go out
  and die on a battlefield or do whatever you do.
  How about at least giving us the benefits.

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Organizational Barriers

• Timely appointments unavailable
• Understaffing of physicians
• Overuse of physician substitutes
• PCM discontinuity

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Delivery of Care Issues

• Receipt of care is time-consuming
• Poor communications
• Generic diagnoses and treatment
• Dismissive culture of military medicine

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Impacts on ADSM

• Lack of faith in MHS
• MHS staff and leadership viewed as uncaring
• Military care seen as inferior to civilian care
• Health system avoidance
• Postponing care
• Hiding health problems

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Key Dissatisfier

• Lack of timely care viewed as greatest
  shortcoming
• I can go into theater and have a medical
  problemand be in Landstuhl within 3 days, get
  diagnosed, treated and return to theater in less
  than 30 days. But I come here and it takes a
  year to get anything done.