Public Opinion Poll on Health & Medical Research & Innovation 2022

Research Australia’s 2022 opinion poll, the third conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, extended the annual series begun in 2003 to new questions on taxation, superannuation, climate change, aged care and obesity. Roy Morgan Research surveyed 1,009 Australians aged 18 and over online through its proprietary panel between 4 and 15 July 2022, weighting results by age, sex and area (response rate 3.9%; maximum sampling tolerance ±3.1%). Health and medical research was rated the cause most deserving of donations, and a tax on sugary drinks was the most supported of seven options to fund research. Of the 82.5% with a superannuation fund, 38.9% wanted more investment in Australian companies developing medicines, vaccines and medical devices and 5.3% wanted less. Nearly four in ten considered government and business funding for research more important since COVID-19, while around 70% agreed Australian researchers were contributing to the global response, down from around 80% in 2020. More than half wanted higher priority for research on climate change and health. Nearly seven in ten believed research-active aged care providers deliver better care, and 55.8% would welcome a health professional raising research participation. Government health websites were found helpful by over three quarters of online searchers, compared with 64% in 2017. Reported donations continued to decline, and 36.1% of recent donors gave regularly.