Over the course of 12 weeks, and working with two nationally respected consumer research firms, RWJF staff and communications consultants crafted a set of basic messages that explain the problems with health care quality, highlight the types of solutions AF4Q is pursuing and call people to action. Dozens of words, phrases and message concepts were discussed in focus groups with either the general public or health care providers. Based on their reactions, a second round of messages were edited and selected to be quantifiably tested in a statistically significant national telephone survey.