世論 What Japan Thinks

goo Research recently reported in detail on comprehensive medical examinations, or as they are known in Japanese 人間ドック, Ningen (Human) Dock, a play on “dry dock”.

Demographics

Between the 29th of August and the 1st of September 2011 1,083 members of the goo Research monitor group completed a private internet-based questionnaire. 50.2% of the sample were male, 24.1% in their thirties, 25.5% in their forties, 25.4% in their fifties, and 25.0% aged sixty or older.

Furthermore, there was a new term to me, “Ladies’ Dock”, which as you might guess is a Ningen Dock tailored towards women. The time my wife and I went for a Ningen Dock, she had the ladies’ course, but it wasn’t sold as female oriented. If I remember correctly, there was a base test for everyone, then you could buy add-on packages on top, like lady bits, allergy tests, chest CT scan, etc.

Research results

Q1: Have you gone for a Ningen Dock, and if so, who paid? (Sample size=1,083)

Company, health union, etc paid for it all (to SQ1 to SQ3)	23.0%
Company, health union, etc paid for part of it (to SQ1 to SQ3)	23.7%
Paid all myself (to SQ1 to SQ3)	7.5%
Never had a Ningen Dock (to SQ4)	45.8%

Q1SQ1: Why did you get a Ningen Dock? (Sample size=587, multiple answer)

Health union, company recommended it	53.8%
Was an age where the examination became necessary	42.2%
If I were to have an illness, early detection is important	39.4%
Just felt uneasy	18.4%
Had a particular worry about my body	14.7%
Family, friends recommended it	8.2%
Thought about family, others around me	7.8%
Doctor recommended it	2.6%
Close to work, home	2.0%
Service offered by life insurance	0.7%
Saw information about it on television, magazines, etc	0.5%
Other	3.7%

Q1SQ2: How did you feel overall about your Ningen Dock after taking it? (Sample size=587)

Extremely good	15.7%
Good	69.2%
Poor	4.9%
Very poor	0.7%
Don’t remember	9.5%

Q1SQ3: What were the good and poor points about your Ningen Dock? (Sample size=587, multiple answer)

	Good	Poor
Reception	27.9%	2.4%
Medical staff	38.8%	3.9%
Doctor	24.0%	7.0%
Same/different sex doctor	5.3%	4.4%
Examination length, waiting time	26.1%	20.8%
Atmosphere of facilities	25.4%	2.6%
Details of examination	25.9%	8.0%
Other	0.9%	3.4%
Nothing in particular	19.9%	58.3%

For the same/different sex doctor, for good points it was a same sex doctor, bad points it was an opposite sex doctor.

Q1SQ4: Why have you not had a Ningen Dock? (Sample size=496, multiple answer)

Too expensive	66.7%
No time to take it	21.6%
Not interested, too much bother	16.7%
Don’t know how to apply, where to take it	14.3%
Scared there would be a bad result	12.9%
Nowhere near to work, home, to take it	7.5%
Cannot find a doctor, hospital I trust	7.3%
Have a regular doctor so no worries	7.1%
Have confidence in my health	6.3%
Cannot take it as already in hospital, confined to home, pregnant, etc	3.0%
Other	4.6%

Q2: When would you want to take a/another Ningen Dock examination? (Sample size=1,083)

Within the next year	25.9%
Within three years	16.4%
Sometime when I have the opportunity	41.0%
Don’t want to take one	16.7%

Q3: What would encourage you to proactively take a/another Ningen Dock examination? (Sample size=1,083, multiple answer)

Cheap price, discounts	65.3%
Health union, country would pay a portion	61.5%
Easy to make appointment	37.9%
Can take examination in a short time	37.9%
Can take examination near work, home	32.7%
Can take examination on weekends	30.3%
Can take time to have a lengthy explanation of the results with the doctor	27.6%
Can search, compare various facilities on the internet	22.0%
If my usual hospital offered it	16.7%
Has same sex doctors, medical staff	12.4%
Can collect air miles, points	9.7%
Special gifts like meal, beauty treatment vouchers	7.8%
Can cope with people with children	4.1%
If I got it as a present from friends, family	3.1%
Can exchange information on social media with people who have taken an examination	2.2%
Other	3.4%

The remaining questions were for females only.

Q4: Have you gone for a Ladies’ Dock, and if so, who paid? (Sample size=539)

Company, health union, etc paid for it all (to SQ1, SQ2)	16.0%
Company, health union, etc paid for part of it (to SQ1, SQ2)	28.9%
Paid all myself (to SQ1, SQ2)	15.4%
Never had a Ladies’ Dock (to SQ3)	39.7%

Q4SQ1: Why did you get a Ladies’ Dock? (Sample size=325, multiple answer)

Health union, company recommended it	23.1%
Just felt uneasy	26.8%
Had a particular worry about my body	21.5%
If I were to have an illness, early detection is important	42.2%
Local government sent a coupon, details	21.2%
Close to work, home	2.8%
Was an age where the examination became necessary	43.1%
Saw information about it on television, magazines, etc	0.6%
Family, friends recommended it	4.9%
Doctor recommended it	4.9%
Thought about family, others around me	7.7%
Service offered by life insurance	0.0%
Other	2.5%

Q4SQ2: What were the good and poor points about your Ladies’ Dock? (Sample size=325, multiple answer)

	Good	Poor
Reception	19.4%	2.2%
Medical staff	28.9%	3.7%
Doctor	27.7%	6.2%
Same/different sex doctor	21.2%	16.9%
Examination length, waiting time	14.8%	16.9%
Atmosphere of facilities	19.1%	2.5%
Medical equipment	13.8%	2.8%
Details of examination	17.2%	3.1%
Other	0.6%	4.0%
Nothing in particular	24.3%	55.7%

For the same/different sex doctor, for good points it was a same sex doctor, bad points it was an opposite sex doctor.

Q4SQ3: Why have you not had a Ladies’ Dock? (Sample size=214, multiple answer)

Too expensive	51.4%
No time to take it	18.2%
Embarrassing	17.3%
Not interested, too much bother	16.4%
Scared there would be a bad result	15.4%
Nowhere near to work, home, to take it	11.6%
Cannot take it as already in hospital, confined to home, pregnant, etc	4.7%
Have confidence in my health	3.7%
Have a regular doctor so no worries	2.3%
Other	6.1%

Q5: When would you want to take a/another Ladies’ Dock examination? (Sample size=539)

Within the next year	32.3%
Within three years	13.5%
Sometime when I have the opportunity	37.8%
Don’t want to take one	16.3%