Question Text:
How much money have you spent in the last four weeks on your own visits to general practitioners, primary care physician or specialists?
[Wie viel Geld haben Sie in den letzten vier Wochen für Ihre eigenen Besuche bei Allgemeinmedizinern, Hausärzten oder Fachärzten ausgegeben?]
Instruction:
(Please count all expenses for travel costs to the doctor, clinic or social institutions, child care and other expenses you had due to your visit to the doctor.) [(Bitte zählen Sie alle Ausgaben für Reisekosten zum Arzt, der Klinik oder sozialen Einrichtungen, Kinderbetreuung und andere Ausgaben die Sie aufgrund Ihres Arztbesuches hatten.)]
Answer Categories:
Open Answer [Offene Antwort]
I haven't had any visits to a doctor
Recommendations:
Question: It is not clear what kind of money/expenditure is involved in the question and to what extent these costs must be borne privately. As far as we know, the medical care of refugees/asylum seekers is paid for by the social service office or, in the case of residence status, by the job centre. However, additional costs up to a certain amount have to be borne by themselves or an exemption has to be applied for. This should be made clearer in the question. If additional costs (travel costs, medical aids) are of particular interest, the following question should be asked explicitly (possibly in a separate question):
"Did you also have expenses for travel to the doctor, clinic or social institutions or expenses for child care due to your visit to the doctor, and if so, how high were these?”
[„Hatten Sie darüber hinaus Ausgaben für Reisekosten zum Arzt, der Klinik oder sozialen Einrichtungen oder Ausgaben für Kinderbetreuung aufgrund Ihres Arztbesuchs und wenn ja, wie hoch waren diese?“]
In addition, we recommend placing a filter in front of the question so that this question only goes to respondents who have been to primary care physicians or specialists in the last 4 weeks.
The reference to "own doctor's visits" should be highlighted in the question text.
The notes in brackets should be followed by the instruction that only numerical values should be entered here (see ENG01).
Answer options: No changes recommended.
General Probing, Specific Probing.
Findings for Question:
In most of the languages tested, difficulties in understanding the question are apparent. It is unclear which medical visits should be included in the answer and whether the question refers only to oneself or also to the family. However, the latter becomes clearer for some test persons through the instruction under the text of the question, while for other test persons it remains unclear whether the expenses mentioned in the instruction have been taken into account.
Serbian
Test person SER01 was once at the paramedic, but emphasizes that she was not at a doctor. As a result, the test person is uncertain whether or not to report this visit to the paramedic. The interpreter adds that the test person has never been to a hospital and therefore has not had any expenses in this regard.
Arabic
Test person AR01 spontaneously asks whether she should only state the expenses for her own doctor's visits or the expenses for doctor's visits of the whole family. She understands this to mean doctor visits by the whole family and therefore replies with "20 Euros". She did not spend any money for herself (she should have stated "0 Euro"). However, because of the mention of "child care" in the brackets in the question text, she thinks of her daughters' two visits to the doctor and the costs involved. Test person AR01 claims to have considered both travel costs and costs for medication when answering the question.
Test person AR02 states that she does not have to pay anything because of her insurance. When asked what she would declare, the test person explains that she can only declare "150 Euro" as her salary, which is the money she is willing or able to pay. In response to a further question, test person AR01 states that about four weeks ago she spent 150 euros on dental treatment for someone else, but not for herself, so she finally decides on this value. The test person herself has been to the primary care physician in the last four weeks.
Farsi
Test person FAR01 had no visits to the doctor and therefore no costs. The interpreter notes that in the question text, the term "medical specialists" was wrongly translated as "internal specialists or surgeons".
Test person FAR02 is also uncertain whether the question is only about her or also about her family, as the German phrase "Ich habe keine Besuche bei einem Arzt" (I had no visits to a doctor) was translated into "Ich habe keine..." (I have no...). After confirming that the question only refers to her, the test person claims not to have been to a doctor.
English
Test person ENG01 specifies "none" instead of a numerical value ("0"). If only numerical values are desired, this should be communicated as a fill-in instruction. The test person had no difficulty with the question.
Question Topic:
Public health/ Visits to the doctor & treatments
Construct:
Spendings medical care
