Malle Program Focus Group

Well tonight was a great turnout. Everyone came on time and had a whole lot to say. We picked a very good group. It's like everyone fed off eachother's energy. I was assigned the task of taking notes on the giant post it for everyone to see. Diana later explained to me that this was so that people can refer back to points if they get lost, and just to assure them that we were listening intently. Everyone participated and had intersting points. The things that stood out the most or what was mentioned was culture, respect, and most of all trust. Meaning that patient navigators in the Malle Program (patient navigation in the Chamoru community) need to know the culutre of the patients. They have to know the diet, some language, general beliefs etc. of the patients, and above all have respect. It was even said that if you didn't know the culture that well as long as you showed respect and was well informed/educated. Another major theme was trust. This meant confidentiality and sort of blind faith. If you tell the patient(s) you will drive them to their appoitment and will come at 3:35 they expect you to keep your word. Overall this focus group was very interesting. I learned more about patient navigation and got some creative ways to improve the program's state. Whether this means bettering the system of the naviagtion or just getting more word out there I'm sure we can make it happen. At the end of the discussion our moderator started talking about breast health and how she was deemed the "susu" lady because she would talk to so many people about breast health. Then everyone else chimed in and it was very entertaining, and even informational.