AAMC Reporter: October 2006

Survey Gauges Candidates' Views on Research

Voters in this fall's elections have a new tool for learning where political candidates stand on medical, health, and scientific research.

Called "Your Candidates. Your Health," the initiative was created by pro-research umbrella coalition Research!America and the philanthropic Albert and Mary Lasker Foundation. The AAMC is a supporting partner of the initiative, which consisted of surveying 1,600 local, state, and national current and prospective lawmakers about their opinions on research issues.

"What we want to do is inform the public that research decisions happen in a political context, and this context is affected by their vote," said Bill Leinweber, Research!America's executive vice president.

"We want to provide information to the public so that research is more of a top-of-mind issue in the voting booth. The people they elect have a say, and officials care about what voters care about. It's about empowering voters to make decisions that are good for research," Leinweber said.

AAMC President Darrell G. Kirch, M.D., sees public support of medical research as a "critical" issue for the future of U.S. health care.

"The public understands the critical importance of health and medical research," Kirch said. "At a time when federal resources are increasingly constrained, it's also essential that the public knows where candidates running for elective office stand in terms of their support of medical research. The 'Your Candidates. Your Health.' initiative is an innovative new tool to help voters with that important assessment."

According to Research!America statistics, only 9 percent of respondents to a 2005 survey on research said they were "very well" informed about the their elected officials' stance on the support of medical, health, and scientific research.

"There is a growing disparity between the priority assigned by the public to research and the priority assigned by lawmakers," Leinweber said. "We became intrigued about providing information to the voting public without offering partisan advice. We formulated 10 questions that capture the issues that matter most in research. Most voters are not one-issue voters, and we want to help position research as a key issue."

While no hard numbers were available as the Reporter went to press, Leinweber said candidate response rates had been "very good," with evidence showing many candidates were waiting to respond until after primary elections, which wrap up in late September. Leinweber noted that so far, responses were "not surprising," with a question on support for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research providing the most variation between surveys.

"Both incumbents and new candidates are generally offering support [for research]," Leinweber said. "Not surprisingly, the most controversial part of the survey has been the question on stem cells. That is a differentiating factor."
           
By entering their ZIP code or a candidate's name, "Your Candidates. Your Health." Web site users can access relevant survey feedback, including candidates' written comments. An aggressive marketing campaign for the site includes a media partnership with Parade magazine, which will publicize the initiative in October.

For more information, visit Your Candidates. Your Health. or Research!America.

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