Introduction to global healthcare surveys

Conducting market research in a global healthcare setting is more complicated than doing so in other industries. For an in-depth read on the global health outlook in 2022, check out Blackrock’s recent update. 

Let's take an example of the pharmaceutical industry. Every country has its own set of regulations and standards that determine how data can be collected and analysed. That means you should be careful when designing your survey question. You should also ensure they meet the standards required by specific countries. For example, let’s say you want to conduct a survey among patients in India about how often they take their medications as prescribed by their doctors. If you don’t ask the right questions or include cultural nuances such as language barriers when designing your research project; then there's no way that data will be reliable enough for analysis purposes—and that means wasted money!

1. Don’t use a static list of global healthcare survey respondents

You shouldn’t use the same list of survey respondents for your healthcare survey. If you do so, your sample size may not be representative of the population. For example, targeting respondents from only one country will ignore all other regions. Similarly, a static country list will not reflect these changes. If you're using a static list of countries in your global healthcare survey, then you'll find yourself with long lists of countries (e.g., "Canada"). You may also find yourself with abbreviations such as "CA" or "NY." To avoid this issue altogether, use a dynamic list of geocodes instead!

2. Don’t forget survey programming and scripting

• What is survey programming? Survey programming is the process of coding the survey so that it can be up and running. Similarly, survey scripting is writing survey questions so that respondents can answer them. To see how you can benefit from a B2B survey programming company, check our recent article. 
• Why is it important? Both these processes are vital to ensure a correct setup for a healthcare survey. If done correctly, they ensure that the survey is administered smoothly. 

3. Don’t rely on translation software or Google Translate

When it comes to global healthcare surveys, many organisations rely on translation software to get the job done. While this can be an effective strategy for some types of research, you should not use it as a substitute for human translation. Translation software is not perfect and can introduce errors in your survey that may impact the quality of your results.

Google Translate is not a perfect tool either; while it may work well in some situations, there are still instances when you should consider involving a professional translator.

4. Don’t forget cultural nuances

One of the most common mistakes in global surveys is not taking into account cultural nuances. It’s easy to ignore this fact, but without understanding the cultural context, your survey can be misinterpreted or misunderstood.

To avoid these pitfalls, make sure you know exactly who your target audience is before designing a global healthcare survey. In this way, you can avoid any pitfalls related to cultural differences between different populations within your audience. For instance, you can define a target audience if your survey focuses on healthcare workers who use a particular software in Poland.

5. Don’t ask the wrong global healthcare survey questions

As with any survey, it’s crucial that you ask the right questions. The following guidelines will help ensure that your global healthcare survey is effective:

• Make sure the questions are relevant to the audience. When designing a global healthcare survey, think about who will be filling out your questionnaire. You should also try to see what their goal for filling out the survey is.  If possible, start by conducting some exploratory research so you can identify specific pain points. In this way, you can also identify unmet needs within your target population. That way you can design questions that will address those issues directly. You will also be providing valuable insights into how people perceive healthcare in their region or country.

• Make sure they are asked in a way that is easy to understand. Although this may seem obvious, it's important to remember when creating surveys designed for international audiences; cultural differences might mean different words carry different meanings across borders (for example "patient" vs "ill"). It's also worth considering how colloquialisms might affect responses; something like 'to kill two birds with one stone could mean something completely different depending on whether someone grew up speaking English or French respectively!

Conducting market research in a global healthcare setting requires quite a bit of extra care and attention, but it can be done successfully

The process of market research in a global healthcare setting is tricky. Here are some tips for avoiding common mistakes:

• Don't assume that what works in one market will work everywhere. Each country has its own unique characteristics that impact the way people use medical devices and services, so your survey must reflect those differences. A good example is a language—say that a survey is conducted in English or in Spanish, but both languages have limitations when it comes to reaching non-English speakers who work in healthcare. 

Avoid this pitfall by designing your survey with multilingual resources available at all times and using an interpreter during any live interactions with respondents.

• Don't ignore cultural differences even when you are interviewing people within your own country (and especially if you're conducting interviews across borders). 

For example, age is an important factor to consider when doing research on health systems because older patients tend to be more susceptible than younger ones; however, treating everyone as if they were equally susceptible may lead you astray because it ignores the fact that older patients may have different needs from younger ones.

Where can you find a global healthcare survey?

If you’re looking to conduct a global healthcare survey, there are plenty of mistakes that could be made along the way. These five are just some of the most common ones to avoid. We hope that this article has given you some insight into how to avoid them! If you’d to learn more about healthcare surveys, contact us at sales@grape-data.com. We’d be happy to help you!