The key informant survey, consisting of 1791 interviews in 35 countries,
yielded scores (from 0 to 10) on each element of responsiveness, as well as
overall scores. A second, Internet-based survey of 1006 participants (half
from within WHO) generated opinions about the relative importance of
the elements, which were used to combine the element
scores into an overall score instead of just
taking the mean or using the key informants’ overall
responses.
Respondents were asked to rank the seven elements
in order of importance, and the weights were
derived from the frequencies with which an element
was ranked first, second, and so on. Respect
for persons and client orientation were rated as
equally important overall, and the three elements
of respect for persons were also regarded as all
about equally important. The four elements of client orientation received different rankings and therefore unequal
weights. The final weights are shown in the table.
Analysis of the element scores themselves, as estimated by the key informants,
showed three consistent biases: for the same country, women
respondents gave lower scores than men, and government
officials gave higher scores than more independent
informants; and all informants’ scores
tended to be higher for countries with less political
freedom, as measured by a composite index.
The data were adjusted to make the scores comparable
across countries by removing the influence
of these factors, so that all the scores are estimates
of the ratings that would be given in a politically
free country, by respondents who did not work for
the government, half of whom were women.