Open-ended questions in surveys of patients' satisfaction with family doctors
Related Experiment Videos
Ludmiła Marcinowicz1, Sławomir Chlabicz, Ryszard Grebowski
1Department of Family Medicine, Medical University of Białystok, Bialystok, Poland. marcinek@amb.edu.pl
Objective:
To compare replies to open-ended and closed questions about patient satisfaction with family doctors.
Methods:
Two centres of primary health care in Białystok in northeast Poland were chosen. A self-administered questionnaire was mailed to 1000 people (500 from each centre) aged 18 years and over, randomly selected from the practices. Possible responses to the one closed question were: very good, good, bad, very bad or difficult to say. Replies to two open-ended questions were categorized as positive, neutral, negative or ambivalent.
Results:
The response rate was 57.9%. There were some discrepancies between the closed-question response and the open-ended question replies. Some of those who replied good or very good to the closed question expressed negative views in response to the two open-ended questions (14.0% and 12.4%).
Conclusions:
Answers to open-ended questions add value to a patient satisfaction survey by providing information that answers to closed questions may not elicite.
Related Concept Videos
Surveys
Assessment of the Cardiovascular System I: Subjective Data
Initial Enquiry
Ask the patient about their primary concern and thoroughly explore all reported symptoms.
Medical History
Investigate past illnesses affecting the cardiovascular system, such as angina, anemia, rheumatic fever, congenital heart disease, stroke, thrombophlebitis, dysrhythmias, varicosities
Inquire about symptoms...
Assessment of the Gastrointestinal System I: Subjective Data
Health History
The initial step in assessing the GI system is obtaining a comprehensive health history. This includes inquiring about the patient's history or presence of problems related to...
Data Collection I
Patient-centered Care
Data Collection by Survey