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Washington, D.C. – A new
report issued today by the National Consumers League (NCL) has
found that the American public believes that patients suffering
from chronic, debilitating conditions are lacking adequate
treatments.
NCL commissioned Opinion
Research Corporation to conduct a national telephone opinion
survey to examine consumers’ perceptions of the severity of the
conditions, as well as the availability of treatments, for those
who suffer from chronic ailments. The result of the survey is a
report, “Public Attitudes towards the Severity of and Treatments
for Chronic, Debilitating Conditions,” which reveals that the
public is aware that chronic diseases compromise quality of life
but confused about the role of the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration in addressing the pressing needs of such
patients.
“Unfortunately, respondents
demonstrated a widespread perception that the patients who
suffer the most are medically underserved,” said Linda Golodner,
NCL President. “We live in the most modern society in the world
with the most sophisticated medical system, yet we are letting
some of our most difficult cases slip through the cracks. We
hope this survey will prompt all stakeholders to ask whether
more can be done to help people suffering from conditions like
Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, diabetes,
and heart disease.”
The report had four key
findings:
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The public recognizes
that chronic, debilitating conditions such as heart disease,
Alzheimer’s, Multiple Sclerosis, diabetes, and Parkinson’s
severely threaten and compromise patients’ quality of life.
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The public perceives a
significant shortcoming in the availability of treatments
for chronic, debilitating conditions such as Alzheimer’s,
Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s.
-
The public believes that
not enough is being done to develop new treatments for
chronic, debilitating conditions including Alzheimer’s,
Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson’s.
-
The public most readily
associates FDA with consumer protection.
“Without question, it is
FDA’s job to ensure that medications on the market are safe and
effective, but we also must be sure that those safe and
effective drugs can be accessed readily by those who need them
so desperately,” said Golodner. “Having access to drugs can
really make the difference between a painful existence and an
improved quality of life – and there is nothing more important
than that.”
A summary of the report,
“Public Attitudes towards the Severity of and Treatments for
Chronic, Debilitating Conditions,” is available at
www.nclnet.org.
About the survey
This report presents the
findings of a telephone survey conducted by Opinion Research
Corporation, between Dec. 1, 2005 and Dec. 4, 2005, among a
national probability sample of 1,013 adults comprising 507 men
and 506 women 18 years of age and older, living in private
households in the continental United States.
The margin of error for this
survey is +/- 3 percentage points. |
