Jacksonville, Fla. – Seventy-eight percent of Florida residents believe current U.S. spending on public health research-one cent of every healthcare dollar-is too little, according to a poll released today.
The poll was commissioned by Research!America’s Prevention Research Initiative. Results were released in partnership with the University of Florida Community Health and Family Medicine/Shands-Jacksonville at the visiting professorship symposium, Prevention Research: From Theory to Practice-A Dialogue Among Health, Media and Policy Experts. Vice Admiral Richard H. Carmona, U.S Surgeon General, gave the keynote address.
“Public health research helps us improve the quality of life, allows individuals to have a healthier future and protects us by finding ways to prevent disease and disability,” said Mary Woolley, president of Research!America. “With adequate support, these crucial returns will benefit all Americans.”
Other highlights of the poll:
- 95 percent of residents believe research to understand and eliminate health disparities is important.
- 71 percent favor a higher sales tax on alcohol products to increase funding for public health research.
- 91 percent favor spending a lot/some of the state tobacco settlement money on research to cure and prevent all diseases.
- 92 percent believe public health research focused on diabetes should be a priority for the state.
- 81 percent believe public health research focused on conditions that lower the quality of life, including arthritis, back pain and migraine headaches should be a priority for the state.
- 88 percent would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported increased funding for research to cure and prevent disease.
“It is apparent from this poll that Floridians put a high priority on disease public health research,” said Peter Pevonka, M.S., the University of Florida Senior Associate Dean for Research. “These findings make it clear that making more resources available for much needed public health research for chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes as well as conditions which lower the quality of life would make for popular public policy.”
“University of Florida faculty are engaged in many prevention research programs but more are critically needed,” added George Wilson, M.D., associate chair of the UF Department of Community Health and Family Medicine. “Hopefully, these results will encourage policy makers to take action.”
Research!America is a not-for-profit, membership-supported public education and outreach alliance founded in 1989 to make medical and health research-including research to prevent disease, disability and injury and to promote health-a much higher national priority. Its 460+ member institutions represent the voices of more than 40 million Americans.
Harris Interactive conducted the poll by telephone within Florida with 801 adult residents ages 18 and over between August 21, 2003, and September 11, 2003. Interviews were conducted in English and Spanish. The survey data were weighted by age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), household size and the number of telephone lines in the household to reflect the demographic composition of the Florida population using the March 2002 Current Population Survey from the U.S. Census Bureau. The results have a statistical precision of plus or minus 4 percentage points of what they would be if the entire population of Florida had been polled with complete accuracy.
Harris Interactive (www.harrisinteractive.com) is a worldwide market research and consulting firm best known for The Harris Poll®, and for pioneering the Internet method to conduct scientifically accurate market research. Headquartered in Rochester, New York, U.S.A., Harris Interactive combines proprietary methodologies and technology with expertise in predictive, custom and strategic research.