Table 1.
Adult questionnaire items, origin, type of adaptation, translation and response characteristics
| Item no. | Origin | Variable | Adapted or original | Type of adaptation | Existing or new translation | Cognitive pretest | % Missing response | Bottom/ceiling effect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EHIS | General health | Original | – | Translation | x | 10.0% | None |
| 2 | DEGS | Health state compared to last year | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
11.4% | None | |
| 3 | EHIS | Chronic illness | Original | – | Translation | x | 11.0% | None |
| 4 | EHIS | Limitation due to health problem | Adapted | Timeframe | Translation | 15.8% | – | |
| 5 | DEGS | Pain | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
10.4% | None | |
| 6 | EHIS | Existence of ambulatory sensitive conditions | Adapted | Revised item list | Translation | 2.7% | – | |
| 7 | EHIS | Avoidable hospitalisation | Adapted | Added specification | Translation | 7.3% | – | |
| 8 | EHIS | Other hospitalisation | Adapted | Added specification | Translation | 6.8% | – | |
| 9 | EHIS | Hospitalisation frequency | Adapted | Multiple choice format | Translation | 12.1% | – | |
| 10 | EHIS | Alcohol consumption | Original | – | Translation | 7.8% | Bottomg | |
| 11 | DEGS | Smoking | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
5.6% | None | |
| 12 | SCID | Medication abuse | Original | – | Translation | 8.3% | – | |
| 13 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Adapted | Simplified wording |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR, AR, FR, FAR)b Translation (ALB) |
x | 7.3% | None |
| 14 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | x | 8.5% | None |
| 15 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | 6.8% | None | |
| 16 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | x | 8.0% | None |
| 17 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | x | 9.2% | None |
| 18 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | x | 11.2% | None |
| 19 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | 8.0% | None | |
| 20 | EUROHIS-QOL | Quality of life | Original | – | “ | 6.3% | None | |
| 21 | PHQ2 | Depression | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR, AR, FR)c Translation (FAR, ALB) |
13.1% | None | |
| 22 | PHQ2 | Depression | Original | – | “ | 13.1% | None | |
| 23 | GAD2 | Generalised anxiety | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, TUR, AR, FR)d Translation (SER, FAR, ALB) |
11.9% | None | |
| 24 | GAD2 | Generalised anxiety | Original | – | “ | 14.0% | None | |
| 25 | EHIS | Utilisation of primary, secondary and specialist healthcare services | Adapted | Added specification | Translation | x |
15.1% (GP) 19.2% (specialist) 20.2% (dentist) 20.9% (psychologist) |
– |
| 26 | EHIS | Frequency of utilisation of primary, secondary and specialist healthcare services | Adapted | Added specification | Translation |
14.1% (GP) 20.6% (specialist) 20.2% (dentist) 23.8% (psychologist) |
– | |
| 27 | EHIS | Prescriptions | Original | – | Translation | x | 9.5% | – |
| 28 | EHIS | Out-of-pocket payments for prescriptions | Adapted | Simplified wording | Translation | x | 27.5% | – |
| 29 | EU-SILC | Unmet need primary care | Adapted | Simplified wording | Translation | x | 16.8% | – |
| 30 | EU-SILC | Unmet need primary care reasons | Adapted | Added answer option | Translation | x | 18.0% | – |
| 31 | EU-SILC | Unmet need specialist | Adapted | Simplified wording | Translation | 20.4% | – | |
| 32 | EU-SILC | Unmet need specialist reasons | Adapted | Added answer options | Translation | 20.6% | – | |
| 33 | DEGS | Family doctor | Original |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
11.7% | – | ||
| 34 | EHIS | Utilisation of emergency care | Adapted | Added specification | Translation | 8.5% | – | |
| 35 | EHIS | Frequency of emergency care utilisation | Adapted | Added specification | Translation | 11.9% | – | |
| 36 | EPF Access to Healthcare | Financial burden of care | Original | – | Translation | x | 14.3% | – |
| 37 | DEGS | Medical advice | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
16.3% | – | |
| 38 | DEGS | Medical advice | Original | – |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
15.8% | – | |
| 39 | EPF Access to Healthcare | Perceived distance of medical facilities | Adapted | Added answer option | Translation |
17.5% (GP) 20.9% (specialist) 12.4% (pharmacy) 17.0% (hospital) |
– | |
| 40 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option |
Existing (GER, FR, RU, AR)e Translation (TUR, SER, FAR, ALB) |
x | 17.5% | None |
| 41 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option | “ | x | 18.5% | None |
| 42 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option and specification | “ | x | 18.9% | None |
| 43 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option and simplified wording | “ | x | 21.4% | None |
| 44 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option | “ | x | 21.4% | None |
| 45 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option | “ | x | 24.3% | None |
| 46 | WHS | Patient-rated quality of care | Adapted | Added answer option | “ | x | 19.2% | Ceilingg |
| 47 | HLS-EU-16 | Health literacy | Original | – |
Existing (GER, AR, FAR)f Translation (FR, RU, TUR, SER, ALB) |
x | 11.4% | None |
| 48 | HLS-EU-16 | Health literacy | Original | – | “ | x | 14.1% | None |
| 49 | HLS-EU-16 | Health literacy | Original | – | “ | x | 14.3% | None |
| 50 | – | Birth month | – | – | Translation | 12.4% | – | |
| 51 | – | Gender | – | – | Translation | 10.7% | – | |
| 52 | – | Nationality | – | – | Translation | x | 9.7% | – |
| 53 | – | Mother tongue | – | – | Translation | x | 7.8% | – |
| 54 | EHIS | School education | Adapted | Simplified language | Translation | x | 14.8% | – |
| 55 | – | Professional education | – | – | Translation | 15.5% | – | |
| 56 | EHIS | Labour status | Adapted | Reduced answer options | Translation | 19.2% | – | |
| 57 | – | Number of children | – | – | Translation | 10.0% | – | |
| 58 | – | Family status | – | – | Translation | 8.0% | – | |
| 59 | – | Living with partner | – | – | Translation | 14.8% | – | |
| 60 | EHIS | Social networks | Original | – | Translation | 11.7% | – | |
| 61 | DEGS | Household size | Adapted | Added specification |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
13.1% | – | |
| 62 | DEGS | Household income | Adapted | Reduced answer options |
Existing (RU, GER, SER, TUR)a Translation (AR, FR, FAR, ALB) |
25.2% | None | |
| 63 | – | Residence status | – | – | Translation | x | 20.6% | – |
| 64 | – | Entry to Germany | – | – | Translation | 16.3% | – | |
| 65 | – | Number of transfers | – | – | Translation | 12.6% | None | |
| 66 | – | Health insurance card | – | – | Translation | 12.9% | – | |
| 67 | MacArthur Scale | Subjective social status | Adapted | Simplified wording, added specification | Translation | x | 30.3% | None |
| 68 | MacArthur Scale | Subjective social status | Adapted | Simplified wording, added specification | Translation | x | 27.4% | None |
EHIS European Health Interview Survey, DEGS Study on the Health of Adults in Germany, SCID Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5, EUROHIS-QOL European Health Interview Survey Quality of Life Scale, PHQ2 Patient Health Questionnaire-2, GAD2 Generalised Anxiety Disorder 2, EU-SILC European Survey on Income and Living Conditions, EPF European Patient Foundation, WHS World Health Survey, HLS-EU-16 16-item European Health Literacy Score, AR Arabic, ALB Albanian, FAR Farsi, FR French, GER German, RU Russian, SER Serbian, TUR Turkish
aAll existing translations taken from [46], made available upon request
bAll existing translations taken from [47], publicly available via http://depts.washington.edu/seaqol/WHOQOL-BREF
cGER, FR, RU, SER: [48], publicly available via https://www.phqscreeners.com/; TUR: [49] AR: [50] both made available upon request
dGER, RU, TUR: [51] publicly available via https://www.phqscreeners.com/; FR: [47] AR: [50], both made available upon request
eAll existing translations taken from: [52],made available upon request
fGER: [53] publicly available; AR, FAR: [54] made available upon request
gCorresponding figures can be found in the Additional file 1: Web Appendix