Multi-Item Scale:

Item Text:

2. ... had severe physical pain?[... starke körperliche Schmerzen hatten?]

Different Answer Format Tested:

Nein

Findings:

What do test persons mean by "severe physical pain"?

The question posed no difficulties for the test persons, who had a homogeneous understanding of severe physical pain. Moreover, no differences by language or country of origin were apparent.

Five test persons explained that severe pain was often caused by injuries, especially accidents or sports (IR05, IR06, DA01, DA03, DA06). Four test persons defined severe pain as a physical impairment (DA04) experienced by not being able to walk (SY01, SY04), stand (SY01), or stand up (IR02). Likewise, four test persons explained when pain, in their understanding, should be considered "severe". This was the case when one could not sleep (SY02, IR02), one fainted from it (IR03) or one could not stand the pain without medication (DA05).

Most of the test persons mentioned typical site-specific pain in their explanations. These included headaches or migraines (SY03, IR01, DA02, DA03), back pain or problems with the intervertebral disc (IR01, IR02, IR03), pain in the hip, legs, joints, bones (e.g., due to a fracture) or chest (SY04, IR01, IR05, IR06, DA01), pain in internal organs, abdomen, or muscles (SY02, SY03, DA03), and dental pain (SY03) and pain after surgery (SY06).

Two test persons also mentioned emotional pain. One of the Iranian test persons even referred exclusively to psychological pain, which was an important topic for the test person for personal reasons at the time of the interview (IR04). A Dari-speaking test person, on the other hand, seemed to have over-read the word "physical" and first explained that there was external, internal, and psychological pain, all of which needed to be considered (DA03). When asked if all forms were meant, she noticed this mistake and focused exclusively on physical pain.

Recommendations:

No changes recommended.

Question tested:

true