Here are some of the best questions for a citizen survey about senior services, plus a few tips to make building your survey as easy as possible. If you want to generate your own, you can build a personalized survey in seconds with Specific.
Best open-ended questions for a citizen survey about senior services
Open-ended questions unlock honest, unfiltered feedback in a way that multiple-choice questions just can’t match. They let citizens express themselves freely—leading to deeper insights, surprising findings, and a chance to hear the real voices in your community. These questions let people go beyond simple choices and share their experiences in detail, which is especially powerful when it comes to understanding diverse needs for senior services. According to research, open-ended questions “allow respondents to provide answers without restrictions, leading to a diverse range of insights” and “uncovering unexpected insights” that researchers might not anticipate. [1] [2]
Here are 10 of the best open-ended questions you can use for a citizen survey about senior services:
What is your overall experience with the senior services currently available in your community?
Which types of support or resources do you think are most needed for older adults in your area?
Can you describe a situation where senior services made a positive difference for you or someone you know?
What barriers have you, or someone you know, faced when accessing senior services?
Which areas of senior care or support do you feel are underserved or missing?
How would you improve communication about the services and programs available to seniors?
What kinds of social, recreational, or educational activities do you wish were offered more often to seniors?
In your opinion, how can transportation options be improved for older adults?
Are there specific health or wellness concerns among seniors that aren’t being addressed by current programs?
If you could change one thing about senior services in your community, what would it be?
These types of questions encourage people to share details and suggestions in their own words, helping providers tailor services more effectively. Respondents can highlight what works, what’s missing, and what could be improved—all context straight from lived experience. [3] [4] [5]
Best single-select multiple-choice questions for a citizen survey about senior services
Single-select multiple-choice questions help you quantify responses and can remove barriers for respondents who might otherwise hesitate to offer feedback. These questions are quick to answer and set the stage for deeper conversation. Sometimes, giving citizens a few short, relevant options helps them get started—then follow-up questions can dig for deeper details.
Question: Which senior services have you used in the past year?
Home care support
Transportation assistance
Recreational programs
None
Other
Question: How satisfied are you with the quality of senior services in your area?
Very satisfied
Somewhat satisfied
Neutral
Somewhat dissatisfied
Very dissatisfied
Question: What is the biggest challenge facing seniors in your community?
Access to healthcare
Transport and mobility
Social isolation
Affordable housing
Other
When to follow up with “why?” If a citizen says they’re “somewhat dissatisfied,” that’s your chance to ask “why?” This opens up space for them to explain—maybe the issue is transportation access, or maybe it’s communication. These follow-ups transform quick selections into actionable context.
When and why to add the “Other” choice? If your survey’s choices can’t cover every possible experience, always add “Other.” The follow-up question lets citizens explain unexpected experiences, and those insights often highlight needs or frustrations you weren’t tracking—some of the best suggestions come from that “Other” box.
NPS question: measure citizen satisfaction with senior services
The Net Promoter Score (NPS) isn’t just for businesses—it’s a powerful tool for public services too. By asking citizens, “How likely are you to recommend the local senior services to a friend or family member?” on a scale from 0 to 10, you capture satisfaction at a glance. Use this as your headline metric, then add a short follow-up (“Why did you choose that score?”) to hear the reasons behind the number—it’s direct, and it covers a wide audience. For a quick start, check out the NPS survey generator for citizens about senior services.
The power of follow-up questions
The magic happens when you use follow-up questions. Instead of accepting a vague or incomplete answer, you ask for context right when the conversation is happening. With services like Specific’s automatic AI follow-up questions, the platform dynamically asks for details based on prior responses, just like a skilled interviewer. These follow-ups work in real-time, leading to richer, clearer responses without endless email threads or waiting weeks for more info. The result? Higher-quality insights and more complete stories—especially for topics as nuanced as senior services.
Citizen: “It’s hard to get to the doctor sometimes.”
AI follow-up: “Can you tell me more about what makes transportation to the doctor difficult for you?”
How many follow-ups to ask? Usually, 2–3 follow-ups get you the context you need. But it’s always best to let people skip to the next question if you’ve got what you’re after—Specific lets you set how deep the conversation should go, so you’re in control.
This makes it a conversational survey: By using these follow-ups, your survey becomes an actual conversation—not just a form. People stay engaged and feel heard, which leads to better insight.
Easy AI-powered analysis: Even if you gather hundreds of free-text answers, it’s easy to analyze everything with AI—check out how to analyze responses with AI. With features like AI survey response analysis, you can chat directly with your data, ask follow-up questions, and get summaries in seconds.
Want to see how this works in a citizen survey about senior services? Try generating your first AI-powered survey and watch the dynamic follow-ups in real time.
How to compose a ChatGPT or AI prompt for survey questions
If you want to use AI tools like ChatGPT, good prompting is key! Here’s how to nudge the AI in the right direction:
Start simple:
Suggest 10 open-ended questions for Citizen survey about Senior Services.
But the more context you give, the better the result. Include info about your community, the purpose of your survey, and any gaps you want to address—here’s a richer prompt:
We’re planning a citizen survey about senior services in our city to identify unmet needs and strengths. Please suggest 10 open-ended questions that explore social, health, access, and communication issues.
Once you have your questions, organize them for clarity:
Look at the questions and categorize them. Output categories with the questions under them.
Pick the most relevant categories to dive deeper:
Generate 10 questions for the categories “barriers to access” and “ideas for new programs.”
What is a conversational survey?
A conversational survey turns feedback into a real-time, natural chat. Instead of ticking boxes, citizens interact with the survey as if they’re talking to a person—it flows, feels less formal, and puts respondents at ease. With an AI survey generator like Specific, you can create these surveys quickly, without scripting every detail by hand.
Manual Surveys | AI-Generated Surveys |
|---|---|
Build each question by hand, set logic yourself | Describe what you want, AI builds and structures it instantly |
Limited follow-ups (hard to automate or scale) | Automated, relevant follow-up questions based on responses |
Requires hours to analyze open-text responses | AI summarizes and lets you chat with your results |
Static, form-like experience | Feels like a real conversation—higher completion and richer feedback |
Why use AI for citizen surveys? AI survey generators take away the manual struggle: you get structured, high-quality questions and dynamic follow-ups without needing survey expertise. Plus, real-time analysis means you’re not drowning in data—you’re learning from it on the spot.
If you’re looking for an AI survey example that provides a smooth, modern experience for both creators and citizens, Specific leads the way. Features like AI-powered editing (see AI survey editor), automated follow-ups, and effortless analysis make every step—from creation to insight—easier, faster, and more accurate. For a full guide on setup, check out how to create a citizen survey about senior services.
See this senior services survey example now
Unlock honest, context-rich feedback about senior services—see what’s possible with a conversational survey that adapts to every answer. Start building your own now to save time, engage more citizens, and get insights that truly matter.