Research Australia Public Opinion Research 2008: Final Report

Research Australia’s 2008 public opinion poll, conducted by Crosby|Textor, combined two focus groups held in Bendigo in May 2008 with an online survey of a representative national sample of n=832 adults, stratified by gender, age and postcode and fielded between 29 July and 3 August 2008. Health remained the top-rated federal government priority (94%), while more research funding for health and medical research was rated important by 82%, slightly lower than the previous year. Seventy-seven per cent agreed the Federal Government should provide more financial incentives for emerging health and biotechnology companies to commercialise research in Australia, and 72% agreed NHMRC funding should continue to increase beyond 2010. Personal giving appeared limited: 8% donated to health and medical research organisations four or more times a year, more respondents disagreed (31%) than agreed (26%) that individuals should give more, and the mean annual donation among donors was $101. Sixty-eight per cent said they were likely to take part in a clinical trial, and 66% were comfortable with de-identified Medicare and PBS claims data being made available to academic researchers. Only 25% were confident that a $10.4 million NHMRC investment would improve Indigenous health, while 59% supported more funding for research into complementary medicines. The report also covers perceived disease risk, lifestyle change and alcohol knowledge.