New Zealand Speaks! 2020 Kantar NZHR Opinion Poll Presentation Events

When it comes to what’s important, New Zealanders continue to put health and health research right up the top. That’s the strong message that once again comes through in our 2020 and fifth successive annual New Zealanders for Health Research public opinion poll.

The poll was undertaken in late May, a few days after both Budget day on 14th May and the commencement of Covid 19 level 2 lockdown, about a month before the release of the Health and Disability System Review report and nearly four months prior to New Zealand’s 19th September General Election.

We believe that one of the takeaways from this report is that kiwis – the “team of five million” – have been failed by New Zealand’s lack of commitment to health research. About 12,000 New Zealanders per year are dying prematurely, yet the Health and Disability System Review report fails to make any recommendations that would embed health research as an essential component of health service delivery, and the 2020 Budget’s meagre health research allocation of 0.76% of health care costs is even less than what was allocated in 2019 – and falling.

Having experienced the powerful impact of the health research led response to the Covid 19 epidemic kiwis can be expected to have a heightened appreciation of the value of health research, and indeed 35% of our poll respondents said that they would be more likely to vote for a party which promised to increase the government’s health research budget. We therefore call on all political parties contesting the 2020 General Election to produce election manifestos which respond to what voters are saying.

To learn more about what kiwis think and NZHR’s responses to the challenges that face New Zealand’s health research sector come along to one of our catered highly regarded, not to be missed, presentation and networking events. Find out what kiwis (and NZHR) think, and have your say, about:

How health research stacks up against other Government priorities

• The value of health and medical research
• Knowledge and understanding of health research
• Government, industry and philanthropic investment in health research, and
• Participation in clinical trials

To celebrate both the release of our fifth annual poll and NZHR’s fifth anniversary since being formally constituted in November 2015, participation in all of this season’s presentation events will be free of charge.

The events are to be held in Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland, and also online.

To register, please click on the location link below for your local event (if you are unable to make one of the physical events, you can register for the Zoom event on 29th July:

Auckland

Wellington

Dunedin

Christchurch

National Zoom

New Zealanders for Health Research (NZHR) is New Zealand’s peak body representing the entire health and medical research pipeline and the only independent agency in New Zealand advocating and lobbying for increased government, industry and philanthropic investment in health and medical research.

© Scoop Media