The survey was commissioned by a new public education and advocacy alliance called New Zealanders for Health Research, whose members include pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, charities and patient advocacy groups. The alliance's aim is to make health research a higher priority in New Zealand.
The survey also investigated how much Kiwis donate for health research.
"While the vast majority of New Zealanders don't think individuals should have to pay more towards health and medical research," a report on the survey says, "50 per cent already make donations into this area annually."
When it came to the sums involved, 1 per cent reported donating more than $500 a year; 11 per cent gave between $101 and $500; 38 per cent gave $1-$100; 28 per cent didn't donate; 15 per cent didn't know; and 7 per cent preferred not to say.
Reasons for not donating were: it was the Government's responsibility, 76 per cent; the person supported charities in other areas, 77 per cent; couldn't afford it, 76 per cent; didn't know, 59 per cent; hadn't been asked, 44 per cent; and didn't know how money given for health research was spent, 74 per cent.
New Zealanders put a lot of store by the value of health research: 69 per cent said it was part of the solution to reducing health care costs. In an Australian survey, 74 per cent agreed with this proposition, while in the United States, 46 per cent agreed.
Other findings from the survey:
When asked to rank 26 issues by the importance the Government should place on them, the top 10 were:
• 1. Improving hospitals and the health care system
• 2. Improving education standards and outcomes
• 3. Keeping the national economy strong
• 4. Improving employment opportunities
• 5. Addressing domestic and family violence
• 6. More funding for health and medical research
• 7. Managing the Government budget
• 8. Improving national infrastructure, including water quality, rail and roads
• 9. Creating more skilled jobs and apprenticeships
• 10. Increasing preventative health care funding and programmes