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You Gov question Do you think that ME, sometimes called Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, is a "real illness

W

worldbackwards

Senior Member
Messages
2,051
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time they've asked the question.

I found this from last summer, where it was smuggled in amongst a survey about other "problematic" illnesses (Dyslexia, ADHD, Anorexia, etc) in the US.

http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/o4rdkrwznj/tabs_OPI_illness_20140618.pdf

Back then we had 73% saying we were real and 10% not. Today in the UK, the 10% stayed steady but the yeses were down at 65-66%. Apparently a third of people admit to being racist in the UK, so it could be worse.

I wonder if it was a bit worse today than it might of been because this was a live issue in the news and perhaps on other days it might have been more positive.
 
elliepeabody

elliepeabody

Messages
86
Location
East of England
I have received an apology from You Gov today, and they have taken down the poll. This is what they have said:
Please accept my apologies – the question we asked yesterday about ME was insensitively worded. We have now taken it down.

We take great pride in our ability to shed light on sensitive issues: by having reliable data on everything from what percentage of the population is truly racist to whether people believe in the science of climate change, we make a valuable contribution to monitoring and understanding big issues. The only way to find out whether people believe something is to ask them, but it needs to be done with sensitivity and in this case the wording understandably caused offense.

The final results of yesterday’s poll showed that an overwhelming 87% of people who have a view understand that ME is a real illness - confirming the high degree to which the public has become educated on this issue.

All the best
Click to expand...

I've thanked them for their apology and suggested that if they wish to find out more about public attitudes towards ME and CFS they contact the MEA as a respected UK charity involved in research, education and training.

Credit to You Gov for their response, it will be interesting to see how they move forward with this.
 
elliepeabody

elliepeabody

Messages
86
Location
East of England
worldbackwards said:
Interestingly enough, this isn't the first time they've asked the question.

I found this from last summer, where it was smuggled in amongst a survey about other "problematic" illnesses (Dyslexia, ADHD, Anorexia, etc) in the US.

http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/o4rdkrwznj/tabs_OPI_illness_20140618.pdf

Back then we had 73% saying we were real and 10% not. Today in the UK, the 10% stayed steady but the yeses were down at 65-66%. Apparently a third of people admit to being racist in the UK, so it could be worse.

I wonder if it was a bit worse today than it might of been because this was a live issue in the news and perhaps on other days it might have been more positive.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this, very interesting data from the US. Surprised that overall 9% think schizophrenia is not a medical condition and 20% that anorexia is not a medical condition.
 
B

batteredoldbook

Senior Member
Messages
147
elliepeabody said:
I have received an apology from You Gov today, and they have taken down the poll.

Credit to You Gov for their response, it will be interesting to see how they move forward with this.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for doing this. Would've prefered that YouGov had tweeted something in public about it, that would have been an even better response but still, really glad to have the poll down.
 
WillowJ

WillowJ

คภภเє ɠรค๓թєl
Messages
4,940
Location
WA, USA
There are times when asking a question prompts people to view it as open for debate.

We do not ask whether cancer is "real" because we know the answer.
 
U

user9876

Senior Member
Messages
4,556
elliepeabody said:
I have received an apology from You Gov today, and they have taken down the poll. This is what they have said:


I've thanked them for their apology and suggested that if they wish to find out more about public attitudes towards ME and CFS they contact the MEA as a respected UK charity involved in research, education and training.

Credit to You Gov for their response, it will be interesting to see how they move forward with this.
Click to expand...

I got this reply from them

please accept my apologies – the question we asked yesterday about ME was insensitively worded. We have now taken it down.


We take great pride in our ability to shed light on sensitive issues: by having reliable data on everything from what percentage of the population is truly racist to whether people believe in the science of climate change, we make a valuable contribution to monitoring and understanding big issues. The only way to find out whether people believe something is to ask them, but it needs to be done with sensitivity and in this case the wording understandably caused offense.



The final results of yesterday’s poll showed that an overwhelming 87% of people who have a view understand that ME is a real illness - confirming the high degree to which the public has become educated on this issue.



All the best


Freddie Sayers

Editor in Chief
Click to expand...
 
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