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Project Title:SHARElife – Healthcare Module (English Version)
  1. General Information: *Note: This item was tested in German. This is an English translation of the original German wording. The translation does not correspond exactly to the wording in the English SHARE source questionnaire.*
  2. Question Text
    (Findings/Recommendations): Have you ever needed medication which you could not afford because of costs?
    [Haben Sie jemals Medikamente benötigt, die Sie sich aufgrund zu hoher Kosten nicht leisten konnten?]
  3. Answer Categories Yes [Ja]

    No [Nein]


    1. Recommendations: Although none of the respondents answered both questions differently, one should consider including a phrase referring to the actual taking of medication in order to avoid potential ambiguities. If the alternative wording is chosen, we recommend emphasizing, in the German translation, that the medication is (urgently) needed.
      "Have you ever forgone taking medication you needed (urgently) because you could not afford it due to the costs?
      [Haben Sie jemals auf die Einnahme von (dringend) benötigten Medikamenten verzichtet, weil Sie sich diese aufgrund zu hoher Kosten nicht leisten konnten?]"
  1. Cognitive Techniques:Information image/link to cognitive pretesting General Probing, Specific Probing, Emergent Probing.
  2. Findings for Question: The aim of this question is to assess whether respondents ever failed to get medication because of the costs involved.

    None of the respondents said that they had had a situation where they needed medication which they could not afford because of the cost involved. One respondent replied spontaneously that he did not need any medication at all, except headache pills. The other respondents said that if they need to take medication, it would be either prescribed by a doctor and, thus, covered by health insurance, or that the costs would be within a reasonable limit (e.g. TP 03: ‘I have been prescribed all medications and the prices have been OK until now. For the stomach, the medicine always costs less than 10 Euros. That’s still OK.’).

  1. Question Topic: Public health/ Drugs
  2. Construct: Abandonment of medicine due to high cost