Table 2 Survey question and anchoring vignettes of the HSR indicator “quality of basic amenities”

Introduction

 Below are some stories about people’s experiences with health care services. I want you to think about these people’s experiences as if they were your own. Once you have finished reading each story, please rate what happened in the story as very good, good, moderate, bad or very bad

Rating:

 How would you rate the cleanliness of the rooms inside the facility, including toilets?

 Very good, Good, Moderate, Bad, Very bad

Very Good Vignette

 Sebastian was hospitalized last year for a hip operation. His private room had its own bathroom with a toilet and was comfortable and spacious. The room and the bathroom were cleaned by the hospital staff daily. The bed was comfortable and the sheets were changed daily

Good Vignette

 Anne had her own room in the hospital and shared a bathroom with two others. The room and bathroom were cleaned frequently and had fresh air

Moderate Vignette

 Martina shared a hospital room with four other persons. There was a toilet for her ward located along the outside corridor, which occasionally wasn’t clean. The room was only occasionally dusty

Bad Vignette

 Dirk shared his small hospital room with five other patients with no partitions between beds. The five patients shared a toilet, which was cleaned every second day and sometimes smelt

Very Bad Vignette

 Helmut has a nervous breakdown and had to spend 3 months in the past year in the local hospital. He had to sleep on an uncomfortable mattress with no sheets. There were 30 other patients in the same dormitory style ward and the toilets would smell, because they were not cleaned. He came back with a skin infection, because he couldn’t wash regularly and there were insects in the bed