Survey Results Discussion

The results of my survey were pretty standard. Here are the questions I asked:

1. How do you rate the quality of health care in the United States today?
-Multiple choice, or a scale from 1 to 10-

2. Are you aware of the current health care debate in Washington?
-Yes, No-

3. Do you currently have health insurance?
-Answer yes, no, decline to answer-
-The purpose of this question is to analyze results of those who have insurance and those who don’t, as it is more likely that those who do have insurance will not support reform.

4. How would you rate the quality of your insurance company?
-Scale from 1 to 10- Only if they answered yes to # 2

5. Would you say that health care should be reformed in the United States? If yes, why do you say so?

-Short answer. Will give an insight into the knowledge of the participant.-

6. Do you support nationalizing health care?
-Yes, No, Don’t Know-

7. Do you support a free market system in which insurance companies compete with each other for coverage on a patient?
-Yes, No, Don’t Know-

8. Do you support the idea that every citizen is required to have health insurance?
-Yes, No, Don’t Know-

9. If you feel that there is a need to reform health care, what do you feel is the number one problem with the current system in the United States?
-Short answer-

10. If you feel that there is not a need to reform health care, what do you feel is the number one asset with the current system in the United States?
-Short answer-

11. Do you feel like the elderly and the poor are taken care of in the United States in terms of health care?
-Yes, No, Comments

In general, most participants answered that they thought health care was of very poor quality in the United States, and that reform needed to happen very quickly.

These answers were predicted. The reason they were predicted is because the media is focusing very heavily on the faults of health care and consequently many of the participants understood (with a few exceptions) and agreed that the Health Care System needed reform.

For this survey, I went around to a variety of different organizations on campus, as I believed this would give me the greatest diversity for my results. I did not go to the Democratic and Republican organizations on campus, however. I further took a couple of participants from Canada (where I used to live) and at my pharmacy (where I work).

I could have done this a little more effectively if I formatted my survey a little differently. For example, instead of asking “do you support nationalizing health care” I could have stated the question as “what are your views on nationalizing health care.” This type of statement would have had the participant go a little more in depth into the answer. Furthermore, I should have asked questions where I was not sure what the participants would answer. In this survey, I was pretty confident as to what these surveyors would answer to each question.