PHYSICIANS SLIGHTLY MORE CONFIDENT IN GOVERNMENT'S PREPAREDNESS FOR AVIAN FLU; MAJORITY WORRIED ABOUT HUMAN-TO-HUMAN TRANSMISSION
FLEMINGTON, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- July 7, 2006 -- A new national survey of 654 physicians indicated that they are slightly more confident in the government's ability to deal with the avian bird flu than they were nine months ago.
The national survey was conducted by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during July 5 - 6, as part of their on-going study of the social, economic and political issues confronting the U.S. health care system.
Among the findings:
-- Comparing results from an earlier HCD Research-MCIPO poll conducted in October, physicians' confidence in the government's preparedness has increased slightly as evidenced by the fact that in October, 78% believed the government was "very unprepared," or "somewhat unprepared." However, in the new poll, 57% of physicians believe the government is "very unprepared" or "somewhat unprepared." And 38% percent of physicians now believe the government is "somewhat prepared," as compared to 20% in October.
-- More than half of physicians (52%) have some level of confidence in the ability of antivirals to fight the avian flu, conversely, few physicians (2%) are "very confident" or "confident" (9%), and 44% are "not confident."
-- A clear majority of physicians (80%) believe the medical community requires increased preparation, with 33% indicating that it needs to greatly increase its efforts and 47% reporting that some increase in preparation is necessary.
-- 62% of physicians reported that they were "not confident" in the medical community's ability to produce vaccine quick enough to prevent a significant number of deaths.
The study also presented physicians with a recent news report of an Indonesian man who died of the H5N1 bird flu that he contracted from his 10-year-old son. It was the first laboratory-confirmed case of human-to-human transmission of the disease, according to a World Health Organization investigation of an unusual family cluster of bird-flu cases.
The investigators also found that the virus mutated slightly when the son had the disease, although not in any way that would allow it to pass more readily among people. Following are the physicians' responses to questions about the news report:
-- An overwhelming majority of physicians (85%) indicated that they are worried about human-to-human transmission, with 45% reporting being "somewhat worried," 29% indicating that they are "worried," and 11% indicating that they are "very worried."
-- The majority of physicians (58%) reported some level of reassurance by the fact that the transmitted mutation was not virulent. However, 46% reported that they are only "somewhat reassured," with only 11% being "reassured" and 2% being "very reassured."
"We have been conducting studies among physicians and the general public regarding the avian flu for nearly a year to obtain their views and identify trends concerning a potential bird flu pandemic," explained Glenn Kessler, co-founder and managing partner, HCD Research. "We will continue to study this public health issue with some focus relating to its impact on the 2008 presidential election."
"Our findings paint a mixed picture about physicians' views on avian flu preparedness in the United States," commented Christopher Borick, Ph.D., director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. "The survey results provide evidence that American physicians are seeing progress in public preparedness for the arrival of the avian flu in the U.S. However, there is considerable skepticism among doctors regarding the availability of vaccines to prevent significant fatalities from an avian flu outbreak."
To view detailed results for the physicians' poll, please go to: http://publish.hcdhealth.com/P1016/
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the poll, or to speak with Glenn Kessler or Dr. Borick, please contact Vince McGourty, M&M Communications, Inc., at (908) 638-5555 or (vinmcg@earthlink.net).
HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. HCD Research is also the developer of hcdhealth.com, a web site for health care professionals. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues.
July 07, 2006
http://news.tmcnet.com/news/it/-phy...reparedness-avian-flu-/2006/07/07/1708544.htm
FLEMINGTON, N.J. --(Business Wire)-- July 7, 2006 -- A new national survey of 654 physicians indicated that they are slightly more confident in the government's ability to deal with the avian bird flu than they were nine months ago.
The national survey was conducted by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion (MCIPO) during July 5 - 6, as part of their on-going study of the social, economic and political issues confronting the U.S. health care system.
Among the findings:
-- Comparing results from an earlier HCD Research-MCIPO poll conducted in October, physicians' confidence in the government's preparedness has increased slightly as evidenced by the fact that in October, 78% believed the government was "very unprepared," or "somewhat unprepared." However, in the new poll, 57% of physicians believe the government is "very unprepared" or "somewhat unprepared." And 38% percent of physicians now believe the government is "somewhat prepared," as compared to 20% in October.
-- More than half of physicians (52%) have some level of confidence in the ability of antivirals to fight the avian flu, conversely, few physicians (2%) are "very confident" or "confident" (9%), and 44% are "not confident."
-- A clear majority of physicians (80%) believe the medical community requires increased preparation, with 33% indicating that it needs to greatly increase its efforts and 47% reporting that some increase in preparation is necessary.
-- 62% of physicians reported that they were "not confident" in the medical community's ability to produce vaccine quick enough to prevent a significant number of deaths.
The study also presented physicians with a recent news report of an Indonesian man who died of the H5N1 bird flu that he contracted from his 10-year-old son. It was the first laboratory-confirmed case of human-to-human transmission of the disease, according to a World Health Organization investigation of an unusual family cluster of bird-flu cases.
The investigators also found that the virus mutated slightly when the son had the disease, although not in any way that would allow it to pass more readily among people. Following are the physicians' responses to questions about the news report:
-- An overwhelming majority of physicians (85%) indicated that they are worried about human-to-human transmission, with 45% reporting being "somewhat worried," 29% indicating that they are "worried," and 11% indicating that they are "very worried."
-- The majority of physicians (58%) reported some level of reassurance by the fact that the transmitted mutation was not virulent. However, 46% reported that they are only "somewhat reassured," with only 11% being "reassured" and 2% being "very reassured."
"We have been conducting studies among physicians and the general public regarding the avian flu for nearly a year to obtain their views and identify trends concerning a potential bird flu pandemic," explained Glenn Kessler, co-founder and managing partner, HCD Research. "We will continue to study this public health issue with some focus relating to its impact on the 2008 presidential election."
"Our findings paint a mixed picture about physicians' views on avian flu preparedness in the United States," commented Christopher Borick, Ph.D., director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. "The survey results provide evidence that American physicians are seeing progress in public preparedness for the arrival of the avian flu in the U.S. However, there is considerable skepticism among doctors regarding the availability of vaccines to prevent significant fatalities from an avian flu outbreak."
To view detailed results for the physicians' poll, please go to: http://publish.hcdhealth.com/P1016/
Editors/Reporters: For more information on the poll, or to speak with Glenn Kessler or Dr. Borick, please contact Vince McGourty, M&M Communications, Inc., at (908) 638-5555 or (vinmcg@earthlink.net).
HCD Research is a marketing and communications research company headquartered in Flemington, NJ. The company's services include traditional and web-based marketing and communications research. HCD Research is also the developer of hcdhealth.com, a web site for health care professionals. For additional information on HCD Research, access the company's web site at www.hcdi.net or call HCD Research at 908-788-9393. Headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, MCIPO is a respected source of public opinion data on local, state and national issues.
July 07, 2006
http://news.tmcnet.com/news/it/-phy...reparedness-avian-flu-/2006/07/07/1708544.htm