The study was approved through the New York State Psychiatric Institute Institutional Review Board. Recruitment flyers were posted in various locales, such as university campus lobbies, waiting areas and lobbies of clinical institutions affiliated with university medical centers, and in community services such as barbershops, laundromats, and hairdressers. Over three months, 74 people responded to the flyers. Fourteen of these individuals were unable to be subsequently reached by telephone after multiple attempts, resulting in 60 people being contacted by telephone to be given further details about the study and to determine their eligibility to participate. Potential participants were informed that the focus groups were being audiotaped and that written consent to participate in the groups would also imply consent for the use of their au-diotaped responses. Once the study objective and procedures were explained, participants’ verbal consent was required so they could be screened to determine their eligibility.
