Table 3 Background questions (BQ) presented to the person
From: Detecting the patient’s need for help with machine learning based on expressions
Compact notation | Question about the person’s background information | Range of values for the person’s answer |
|---|---|---|
BQ1: an estimated health condition | “What kind of health condition you have currently according to your opinion?” [32, 35] | A 9-point Likert scale supplied with the following partial labeling: “9 Good”, “8 –“, “7 Rather good”, “6 –“, “5 Medium”, “4 –“, “3 Rather bad”, “2 –“, “1 Bad”. |
BQ2: a health problem reduces ability | “Do you have a permanent or long-lasting disease or such deficit, ailment or disability that reduces your ability to work or to perform your daily living activities? Here the question refers to all long-lasting diseases identified by a doctor, and also to such ailments not identified by a doctor which have lasted at least three months but which affect your ability to perform your daily living activities.“ [32] | No or yes. |
BQ3: one or more diseases identified by a doctor | “Has there been a situation that a doctor has identified in you one or several of the following diseases?“ [32] | The person answers by selecting one or more options from a list of diseases [18], see details in Data analysis supplement (Additional file 1). For some options there is a question “other, what?” and an adjacent text input box so that the person can write some additional information concerning that option. |
BQ4: a continuous or repeated need for a doctor’s care | “Do you need continuously or repeatedly care given by a doctor for a long-lasting disease, deficit or disability that you have just mentioned?“ [32] | No or yes. |
BQ5: the quality of life | “How would you rate your quality of life? Give your estimate based on the latest two weeks.” [36, 37] | A 9-point Likert scale supplied with the following partial labeling: “9 Very good”, “8 –“, “7 Good”, “6 –“, “5 Neither good nor bad”, “4 –“, “3 Bad”, “2 –“, “1 Very bad”. |
BQ6: the satisfaction about health | “How satisfied are you with your health? Give your estimate based on the latest two weeks.” [36, 37] | A 9-point Likert scale supplied with the following partial labeling: “9 Very satisfied”, “8 –“, “7 Satisfied”, “6 –“, “5 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied”, “4 –“, “3 Dissatisfied”, “2 –“, “1 Very dissatisfied”. |
BQ7: the satisfaction about ability | “How satisfied are you with your ability to perform your daily living activities? Give your estimate based on the latest two weeks.” [36, 37] | A 9-point Likert scale supplied with the following partial labeling: “9 Very satisfied”, “8 –“, “7 Satisfied”, “6 –“, “5 Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied”, “4 –“, “3 Dissatisfied”, “2 –“, “1 Very dissatisfied”. |
BQ8: the sex | “Tell what is your sex. The answer alternatives are similar as in the earlier health surveys of Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL) to maintain comparability with the earlier results.” [32] | Man or woman. |
BQ9: the age | “Tell what is your age.” [32] | Age in years selected from the following range: 16 years, 17 years, …, 99 years, 100 years or more. |