What do patients want, a worldwide study

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 14 Jun 2004 - 21:00 PDT

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Under a new partnership with The Commonwealth Fund of New York, The Health Foundation, UK, is investigating what people in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand think about the healthcare they receive. Through our support, for the first time, the International Health Policy Survey is taking an in-depth look at the views of patients and the public in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, comparing them to each other and to the views of patients in the other four countries.

The survey will ask questions like: How do people feel about the healthcare they receive? What kind of relationship do they want to have with their doctor and other healthcare staff? To what extent do different people want to be involved as an active partner in their care - and how often do they feel this is on offer?

The Health Foundation believes that dramatic improvements in the health of the public will only be possible if there are significant improvements in access to information about health and healthcare. The survey, reaching 7,000 people worldwide, will provide a comprehensive picture of the state of 'health literacy': the extent to which people are able to access healthcare information and apply it to their own circumstances. The survey will also show the extent to which social inequalities affect patients' abilities to make informed decisions about their health and healthcare.

The results will be published early in 2005.

http://www.health.org.uk