Ipsos in the UK, working in partnership with Groundswell and Dr Stephen Green of Sheffield Hallam University, has completed an evaluation of the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant (RSDATG).
Ipsos was commissioned by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) to undertake a qualitative and quantitative programme of research among the general public and a variety of healthcare professionals (HCPs) about perceptions of the risks and benefits associated with medicines and medical devices, and of how well they are regulated and communicated in the UK.
One of the government's cornerstones of its NHS reform is providing more choice to patients to make the NHS more flexible and responsive. Since the beginning of 2006, patients are entitled to be offered a choice of four or more hospitals when referred by their GP. The Department of Health commissioned Ipsos to undertake a major regular postal survey assessing the implementation of this policy in primary care.
Ipsos have been monitoring public trust in professions since 1983. Doctors are consistently rated as the most trustworthy of a variety of professionals — including teachers, scientists, politicians and journalists.
This year the Healthcare Commission is supplementing its annual State of Healthcare report on the "the provision of healthcare by or for NHS bodies" in England and Wales with a summary of NHS-related research published by Ipsos since 2000. This supplementary report looks at public and patient priorities for, and satisfaction with, a wide range of different aspects of the NHS. The report highlights key trends over the last five years, looks at regional and demographical differences, and summarises areas of change.
Findings from an Ipsos survey on behalf Cancerbackup are unambiguous in showing that cancer is a key public priority, both in absolute terms, and compared with other illnesses and diseases. Cancer has remained the top national health priority among the general public since 2003 [note 1], and its importance as a health concern overshadows public concern for other illnesses and diseases. The question asked the public, without any prompting, which, if any, illness or diseases they think should be a national health priority.
The public think the NHS is in crisis yet patients consistently report high levels of satisfaction with the care they receive. Lost in Translation — a new report published today by the NHS Confederation — examines why there is such a large gap in perceptions.
Public expectations of the NHS are running ahead of what the health service can deliver, according to new research published today by the Institute for Public Policy Research (ippr) ahead of the release of monthly NHS waiting time figures on Friday.
The Stroke Association has worked with the Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Ipsos to gauge awareness of the relationship between salt and high blood pressure — a major contributing risk factor for stroke. The survey of over 300 Britons of south Asian origin found that only 19 people (six per cent) knew the maximum recommended salt intake was 6g a day, with a tiny proportion, five per cent, naming stroke as a primary health concern.
The research findings from the present study bear a striking similarity to those from MORI's earlier research on the regulation and revalidation of doctors. This may reflect one of the findings of the qualitative research: that even though doctors and the other professionals covered by the research are not seen as having the same roles, people seem to find it difficult to talk about non-medical healthcare professionals without also talking about doctors. They therefore fail to treat them as separate groups. This came across strongly in the focus groups, where respondents tended to focus on doctors, even when asked about non-medical healthcare professionals.
