Page 317 - Contributed Paper Session (CPS) - Volume 2

CPS1873 Ferenc M. et al.
A good example is the HBLS question on unmet need for medical
examination that is practically equivalent with the recommended formulation
of the EU-SILC PH040 variable (‘unmet need for medical examination or
treatment [during the last 12 months]’). The structure and wording of the
Hungarian translation follows the recommended formulation of the English
Description perfectly. Still, the experiences of the cognitive testing has shown
that the interviewees tended to interpret the question differently from the
intended meaning, that is, they recalled the events when they consulted a
doctor instead of issues requiring medical care. Consequently, it is reasonable
to assume that on a Hungarian target population, valid responses can be
elicited by a different question formulation than the recommended version in
the Description. The research team’s suggested solution was therefore to
compose the question so that it refers explicitly to health issues instead of
events needing medical care.
The team came to the conclusion by analysis of the interpretive patterns
that a brief supplementary instruction is necessary to facilitate proper
interpretation of the question. Table 1 shows the original and the proposed
question variation (the English translation of the latter follows the sentence
structure and carries the same meaning as the proposed question in
Hungarian).

Table: Original and proposed question formulation of the EU-SILC PH040 variable for
the HBLS questionnaire
Original version following the Description Proposed Hungarian version after the testing

Was there any time during the past 12 Have you had any health problems that really
months when you really needed medical needed medical examination or treatment
examination or treatment for yourself? during the past 12 months?
Please take into account every such problem,
even if you did not seek medical care.

Among the many interesting and beneficial results, a somewhat unsettling
experience of the research team should be paid particular attention to.
Namely, some of the interviewees were less able to reflect on their own
thought processes and they could only express their experiences and situation
much less nuanced than others. Typically, but not exclusively, it was observed
among the test subjects with low level education. The question arises: was it
us who could not find the appropriate tone (i.e. develop a proper rapport)
because of the different cultural background, or were our test subjects truly
incapable of such a degree of reflexive thought that the CI required? In their
case, the question is particularly acute: do the collected survey data represent
the researchers’ intention? Lack of understanding or misunderstanding of

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