December 8, 2008
Bay Area Residents See Global Health Research As Driver for Area Jobs, Salaries
CDC Director, Other Leaders in San Francisco Today to Discuss Global Health Partnerships
Fully 84% of Bay area residents say that Americans will be better off if the U.S. government invests in research to improve health around the world, according to a new public opinion poll. Nearly all (96%) say that investing in scientific research is important to help create jobs in California and to keep California's salaries competitive—a stronger response than from other areas in the state. Most Bay Area residents (97%) say it is important for California to be a leader in medical research. They cite the economy and preventing disease as top reasons to invest in global health research.
The poll findings are being announced today at a San Francisco forum on public-private partnerships to foster innovations in global health taking place in the Bay Area. The keynote speaker is CDC Director Julie Gerberding. Hosted at the City Club by the University of California, Berkeley School of Public Health, the University of California, San Francisco Global Health Sciences, Research!America, and Pfizer, the forum will feature leaders from the Gates Foundation, area universities and the global health research community. Supported by Pfizer, the forum is being moderated by Betty Ann Bowser of PBS's "The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer."
"We are witnessing a wave of public enthusiasm for global health in the Bay Area and all of California," said Haile T. Debas, executive director, UCSF Global Health Sciences. "We must catch the crest of the wave and expand our area's pursuit of research to improve health around the world. Our economic competitiveness at home depends on it."
Seventy-two percent of Bay area residents think the United States should worry about diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and cholera that mostly affect poorer countries, and 58% believe that California is more vulnerable to global health threats than other places in the United States.
"California's importance as a gateway and a travel destination may explain this response," said Stephen M. Shortell, dean of UC Berkeley School of Public Health. "We need to invest in global health research to prevent the major infectious diseases but also the growing prevalence of chronic illness such as diabetes. We need to form effective partnerships in the developing world to deal with the web of poverty and poor health that will ultimately affect all of us."
"Universities and businesses have new opportunities to work together to advance our progress in global health research," said Cathryn M. Clary, vice president of U.S. Medical, Pfizer. "Such collaboration can improve health here and around the world, as well as help the economies of San Francisco and other research hubs by creating new, knowledge-based jobs."
Two-thirds (63%) of Bay area residents think global health should be a top priority for the new Congress, and 62% think that the U.S. should spend its tax dollars on improving health in the U.S. and globally, compared to only 38% who responded "in the U.S. only."
"Global health research clearly has public support, which sends a strong message to local and national policy makers," said Mary Woolley, president and CEO, Research!America. "The economic growth of California and the nation depends on public- and private-sector investment in research to improve the health of people everywhere."
The public opinion poll was conducted online by Charlton Research Company with a sample of 1000 adults in California. The poll has a margin of error of ±3.1% for statewide data and ±6.9% for Bay area data.
To learn more about the poll or to hear a podcast of the forum, please visit www.researchamerica.org.