Open-ended Questions in Healthcare Feedback Surveys

Text questions, also known as open-ended questions, invite respondents to freely express their thoughts, experiences, or opinions. They are a versatile and valuable tool for feedback surveys because – unlike structured questions with predefined response options – they allow patients to provide more nuanced feedback and insights that might not emerge through multiple-choice or ranking questions.

Here are two examples of text questions:

1. "Please describe your experience with our clinic in your own words." — This type of question allows patients to share their overall impressions and details that might not be covered by more structured questions.
2. "What could we have done to improve your visit today?" — This question seeks specific, constructive feedback and encourages patients to share areas where they see potential for improvement.

Best applications and usages of open-ended questions

Text questions are ideal for gathering detailed feedback that might not fit into predefined categories. 

One such case includes asking about overall satisfaction — patients might share important details about their experience, such as interactions with staff or unexpected challenges, that would be missed by multiple-choice questions.

When you need actionable feedback, especially for process improvements, open-ended questions can provide real-world examples of what’s working and what’s not. This type of question is particularly useful for exploring why certain issues exist and how they affect the patient experience.

Every patient experience is different, and text questions allow respondents to express their individual perspectives. This flexibility is important when trying to capture the full range of patient experiences, especially in complex healthcare environments where predefined answers might not apply.

Text questions are also an excellent option for adding depth to data gathered from closed-ended questions. For example, after asking a patient to rate their satisfaction on a scale, follow up with an open-ended question like: "Can you explain why you gave that rating?" — this adds context to the numerical data.

Insider tips: what to avoid?

While open-ended questions can provide valuable insights, there are a few common pitfalls that can reduce their effectiveness. When incorporating them in your surveys, watch out for the following: 

• Overloading the survey with text questions: Too many text questions can overwhelm respondents and lead to survey fatigue. Patients may become frustrated if they are asked to write long answers for multiple questions, which can result in incomplete responses or lower overall survey completion rates.‍
• Vague or ambiguous prompts: Avoid vague questions like "Any comments?" or "What do you think?" — these can lead to unstructured responses that are difficult to analyze. Instead, ask targeted, specific questions that guide respondents toward providing useful and actionable feedback.‍
• Ignoring the responses: Text responses require more time and effort to analyze compared to multiple-choice data, but they contain some of the most valuable insights. If needed, invest in tools like text analysis software or keyword tagging to extract trends and themes from open-ended feedback.‍
• Failing to provide clear instructions: If your questions are too broad, responses may be off-topic or irrelevant. Ensure that your questions are clear and focused, so patients know what to write about.

Conclusion

Text questions in healthcare feedback surveys are a great opportunity to gather rich, qualitative insights directly from patients. When used correctly, they can reveal hidden issues, highlight areas for improvement, and provide a deeper understanding of the patient experience. 

However, to get the most out of these questions, it's important to use them sparingly, ask specific and well-defined questions, and make sure you have a plan for analyzing the responses. 

When combined with structured data, text questions can significantly enhance your survey’s ability to capture the full picture of patient satisfaction and healthcare quality.