High-Quality Fieldwork with Hard-to-Reach Audiences: Respiratory Diagnostic Testing Study

Recruitment.

  • Client Type
Market Research Agency
  • Therapeutic area
Respiratory Diagnostics
  • Countries
USA, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, China, and Japan
  • Target Specialties
Laboratory Directors, Practice Managers, and Heads of Department
  • Total Respondents Recruited
n=28
  • Methodology

45-minute web-assisted qualitative interviews

Business Objective

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), human metapneumovirus (HMPV), and human parainfluenza virus (hPIV) are common viral pathogens that can cause serious respiratory illness, particularly in infants, older adults, and immunocompromised patients. Early and accurate diagnosis is critical to guide treatment decisions, manage outbreaks, and optimise healthcare resources.
Our client wanted to understand the landscape of diagnostic testing for these respiratory viruses across multiple markets, capturing stakeholder perceptions, unmet needs, and awareness of available tests across different laboratory settings Specifically, the client was seeking the opinions of key experts around core areas such as procurement, reimbursement, distribution and pricing of diagnostic test kits, as well as trends, statistics, decision drivers, and ordering practices for such tests, all within their setting and country-specific context.

Project Scope

Since the project was focused on decision-makers and influencers in respiratory diagnostic testing within laboratory settings, respondents were carefully selected to provide a balanced spread of settings and experience levels, ensuring insights reflected the diversity of practice across each market. Target settings included a mix of hospitals, outpatient clinics, standalone independent laboratories, and laboratories affiliated with hospitals. These workplace settings were further divided into public and private. Recruitment began during a naturally busy year-end period, which can make outreach more challenging as many potential respondents are also occupied.

The QQFS Approach

  • Seamless Fieldwork Execution: QQFS has partnered closely with the client to deliver high-quality fieldwork across seven global markets, leveraging a robust panel of healthcare professionals. The combination of precise targeting, thoughtful quotas, and multilingual support ensured a comprehensive and actionable dataset for the client. QQFS has provided moderation and transcription support for non-English markets, to complement the client’s internal analysis.
  • Proactive Recruitment Approach: QQFS applied a mixed methodology of panel recruitment, referrals, and desk research to secure the right participants efficiently, even during the busy end-of-year period. QQFS used its proprietary profiling tool to target the required quotas based on client needs, allowing flexibility to dynamically adjusting targeting during the course of recruitment. This has allowed customisation of the recruitment strategy based on the client’s requirements.
  • Local Expertise and Market Understanding: QQFS has provided context-specific insights on differences and nuances in diagnostic testing practices across each market. For example, in Spain diagnostic activity is concentrated in hospital-based laboratories and large multinational chains. Decisions are made centrally, and many independent sites function as collection centers rather than testing facilities. Laboratory Managers often do not hold purchasing authority. There is also a limited number of private hospital laboratories, indicating the universe for this target audience is limited. This feedback proved to be crucial for the client when adjusting the target sample for this specific market.
  • Speed Without Compromise: Due to proactive quota management, paired with dynamic recruitment and prompt scheduling of qualified respondents, QQFS has completed all interviews before year-end, maintaining both quality and rigor.

Client Impact

The project successfully recruited and completed interviews with a total of 28 respondents across America, Europe, and Asia, providing the client with qualitative perspectives on the diagnostic testing landscape for respiratory diseases. The study illuminated differences among the practice types, awareness, and unmet needs across markets, while demonstrating the proactive and solutions-oriented approach to fieldwork.
The client benefited from QQFS’s access to a robust panel of healthcare professionals and administrator roles, tailored recruitment strategies, and market-specific insights, allowing for the fieldwork to run efficiently and confidently.
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