1. How would you define “being healthy?”
2. How would you personally define health, and does it have a relationship with medicine? Why?
3. What kinds of things help you stay well?
4. What is a typical diet in your culture?
5. Can you tell me everything you’ve eaten over the last two days, and what times you ate?
6. What foods are thought to promote health? What foods are thought to be unhealthy?
7. What is the life expectancy in your country for men? For women?
8. What’s the infant mortality rate? What do people say are the things that could improve this?
9. What are some common health problems people face?
10. Is diabetes (type I or II) very common in your country? How do people usually deal with it?
11. Is Alzheimer’s or dementia very common in your country? How do people usually deal with it?
12. Is high blood pressure very common in your country? How do people usually deal with it?
13. Are allergies very common in your country? To what? How do people usually deal with them?
14. Are neonatal disorders very common in your country? How do people usually deal with them?
15. Are strokes very common in your country? How do people usually deal with them?
16. Are eating disorders very common in your country? How do people usually deal with them?
17. Is heart disease very common in your country? How do people usually deal with it?
18. Is overweightness or obesity very common in your country? How do people usually deal with it?
19. Does your country have many health campaigns? About what issues? (diabetes, breast cancer, the flu, blood donations, etc.)
20. What do you think is the government’s responsibility to promote health and prevent disease?
21. In your culture, are illnesses viewed as being the result of natural scientific phenomena or supernatural and spiritual phenomena? What are your thoughts?
22. In your opinion, to what extent can our mind affect our body and our health?
23. How is traditional medicine viewed in your country?
24. Tell me about some traditional medicine used in your culture. (i.e. cupping, essential oils, cutting, acupuncture, herbal remedies, etc.) What are they used for?
25. What types of traditional medicine or home remedies do you like to use?
26. What are the advantages and disadvantages of traditional medicine?
27. What are the advantages and disadvantages of modern medicine?
28. What kinds of licenses do those who practice medicine need?
29. Are certain people known for being healers (or shamans or medicine men)? How do they get this reputation? How respected are they?
30. Are there certain (non-medical) places that are known that you can go there and be healed? What do you have to do in those places to be healed?
31. What types of medicines are available over-the-counter, and what types are prescription only?
32. Is there much of a black market for prescription drugs? Which ones, and why?
33. Which medicines are banned in your country, and why?
34. What kinds of things might people wear that they believe affect their health? (i.e. cloth string or bracelet, evil eye, charms, medicine bags, etc.) How is this meaningful, and what is the believed effect if it is removed?
35. Is vitamin-taking common? Who takes them, and for what?
36. How do you personally feel about taking medicines?
37. In what situations that you know of would a person refuse to receive healthcare?
38. If someone is sick, what kinds of things does society expect of him in order to protect others? (i.e. wearing a mask, staying home from work, school, or parties, etc.
39. How do sick days at work or school work? Do you have to provide a doctor’s note? How many sick days do you get?
40. How does the healthcare system work in your country?
41. What is the cost of healthcare, and how does it change depending on your job or location?
42. Is health insurance used in your country? How does it work? What is your opinion on it?
43. How do you go about finding a good hospital or doctor?
44. What are the characteristics of a good healthcare provider? (doctor, nurse, etc.)
45. In your country, are doctors expected to have a conversation with and get the opinion of the patient, or are they expected to give advice and not be questioned?
45. What kind of communication is typical between a doctor and his patient? Between a nurse and his patient?
46. Are regular doctor check-ups common in your country?
47. What vaccinations are common in your country?
48. In decision-making around health decisions, does the individual or their family tend to have more say?
49. How is mental illness viewed in your culture? 50. Is it viewed as more shameful and private, or okay to be discussed and be open about?
51. Is organ donation common in your country?
52. If you have an illness or medical problem, you can answer these questions if you are comfortable:
(a) What do you call your illness?
(b) When did your illness begin?
(c) Why do you think your illness started?
(d) What does your sickness do; how does it work?
(e) How severe is your illness?
(f) What do you fear most about your illness?
(g) What are the major problems your illness has caused?
(h) Do you have any ideas about what treatment you should receive?
53. What does good care (in a medical facility) look like to you? What kinds of things, if people did them for you, would lead you to feel like you’d received good care?
54. In your culture, if a person has a terminal disease, is he usually told or is it kept hidden? Why is this?
55. What beliefs and values surround big life events like birth, hitting puberty, having children, menopause, aging, and death?
56. What does pain mean to you? How do you usually describe pain you have? i.e. in numerical terms, or comparing it to something else, etc.