Volume 190 - Issue 2
Public perceptions of Australia’s doctors, hospitals and health care systems
Authors: Elizabeth A Hardie and Christine R Critchley
Med J Aust 2009; 190 (2): 102-103. || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2009.tb02299.x
Published online: 19 January 2009
Published online: 19 January 2009
In reply: We are intrigued by the discrepancy between our findings1 and the 2007 Ipsos study results2 noted by Armitage. We took a psychometrically rigorous approach to measuring the public’s preference for health care systems. If our pro-private statements seem “leading”, then the pro-public statements (“Australia should adopt a collective social health system supported by higher taxes as is done in some Scandinavian countries”, “I would be willing to pay higher taxes to improve Australia’s health care services”) could be similarly construed.
Armitage reports that 52% of the Ipsos sample supported (and 42% opposed) full public funding of health care. If we apply this support–oppose dichotomy (ie, per cent above and below the scale mid-point) to our own data, a striking 70% of our sample support (and 30% oppose) greater public funding, while just 7% support (and 93% oppose) more private funding. This is consistent with other Australian studies showing a preference for health and medical research being conducted in public, as opposed to private, settings.3-5
We cannot directly compare our methods and results with the Ipsos survey because, ironically, when we tried to access this research supported by “governments ... private providers and industry associations”, we were advised by Ipsos that the report is not publicly available.
References
- Hardie EA, Critchley CR. Public perceptions of Australia’s doctors, hospitals and health care systems. Med J Aust 2008; 189: 210-214. 0_CBBFEICE
- Ipsos Health Care and Insurance — Australia 2007 report. Melbourne: Ipsos Australia, Nov 2007: 103. 0_CBBEGGEC
- Critchley CR. Public opinion and trust in scientists: the role of the research context, and the perceived motivation of stem cell researchers. Public Underst Sci 2008; 17: 309-327. 0_CBBHBIDE
- Critchley C. Stem cell research: what do the public really think and why? In: Stranger MJA, editor. Human biotechnology and public trust: trends, perceptions and regulation. Occasional paper no. 7. Hobart: Centre for Law and Genetics, 2007. 0_CHDCHGBG
- Critchley C. The impact of commercialization on public support for science: detecting the reasons to enable solutions. Invited plenary paper presented at: Genome Canada Third International Conference — 2020 Vision: The Impact of Science on Society; 2008 Oct 22–24; Vancouver, Canada. 0_CBBFFFEI