University of Alberta researchers, Shelagh K Genuis and Westerly Luth,  join us to present the ALS TALK Project, a study exploring how people living with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and their family caregivers experience health communication. The focus of the presentation will include: 

• Effectiveness of using asynchronous, online focus groups (AOFG) for people facing participation barriers, and lessons learned.  
• Data collection methods forAOFGs, hosted on itracks BoardTM platform, for a safe and convenient method to gather insights and develop in-depth understanding of participant perspectives.  
• Analyzing  itracks data with NVivo, qualitative data analysis software, for rigorous qualitative and quantitative insights into the experiences of people affected by ALS. 

Following this, Leon Bourner will give a demonstration of itracks Board, the technology platform on which the data collection for this project was based. Plus, Stacy Penna, Lumivero Customer Engagement Director will show how to import and analyze the itracks Board data in NVivo.  

About the Speakers

Dr. Shelagh K Genuis | Research Associate, Division of Neurology, University of Alberta

Dr. Shelagh K Genuis, a Research Associate in the Division of Neurology at the University of Alberta, has a background in information science, health communication, rehabilitation medicine, and qualitative methodologies, including community-based participatory research. She works on a patient-oriented health communication research team focusing on people affected by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. She has used NVivo since 2008 and initiated work with itracks when leading the ALS Talk Project.

Westerly Luth, MSc | Research Associate, Division of Neurology, University of Alberta 

Westerly Luth (MSc) is a research associate in the Division of Neurology at the University of Alberta with a background in mixed methods research paradigms and the intersection of digital practices and everyday life. She works on a patient-oriented health communication research team focusing on people affected by Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. She has used NVivo since 2012 for text, audio, and video analysis. 

Leon Bourner | Director of Sales & Client Development, itracks

An award-winning client development professional, Leon has spent the past three years as Director, Sales and Client Development at itracks. In this time, he has helped hundreds of clients realize their qualitative research goals using dedicated online focus group, interview, and discussion board solutions. An integral part of itracks’ strategic direction, he helped launch itracks Realtime in early 2021. His and his team’s reception and translation of client feedback is a direct contributor to feature updates and the overall evolution of itracks solutions

Stacy Penna, EdD | Director of Customer Engagement, Lumivero

Stacy has combined her educational and research experience with her work in the software industry and is delighted to be supporting and building a wider research community. Stacy earned a doctorate in education using NVivo for both her literature review and qualitative research. She has worked at QSR International, now Lumivero for 10 years and is excited for the future of research.

Presented in Partnership

Speakers:

Dr. Shelagh K Genuis, Research Associate, University of Alberta

Westerly Luth, Research Associate, University of Alberta

Leon Bourner, Director of Sales and Client Development, itracks 

Stacy Penna, Ed.D., Customer Engagement and Enablement Director, Lumivero