Research!America has been gauging public opinion on research to improve health since 1992, and our publications get the word out about advocacy initiatives, the day’s top issues, the importance of continued research and more.
Browse our polls and publications using the menu at left or the summaries below.
America Speaks, Poll Data Summary
America Speaks, Poll Data Summary
Research!America annually publishes a summary of results from our most recent public opinion surveys. Use this data in letters to the editor; op-eds; newspaper articles; letters to and visits with elected officials; speeches; talking points; congressional testimony; town hall meetings and debates; and policy statements. America Speaks: Poll Data Summary, Volume 10 
was published in September 2009.
Annual Report
Research!America's annual report is a look back at our accomplishments of the previous year, released at our annual meeting each March. Our 2009 report is Recovery, Innovation, Results: Research for Health.
Issue Reports
We have developed two series of one-page reports to highlight the benefits of research to improve health.
- Our Bridging the Sciences series demonstrates how the physical and life sciences intersect to improve health.
- The Investment in Research Saves Lives and Money series, founded in partnership with the Mary Woodard Lasker Charitable Trust, focuses on the social and economic impact of research that improves health.
Newsletter
Our award-winning monthly newsletter, The Research Advocate, features articles about advocacy initiatives, research funding, research in the news and news from members. Browse selected articles.
See our newsletter archive to download the latest and past issues in PDF format. Downloads of issues prior to September 2009 require a member log-in. E-mail kfuller@researchamerica.org if you are a member and don't know your log-in, or become a member here.
Investment in Research Reports
Research!America has been tracking and analyzing the various streams of funding that make up the total U.S. investment in health research for a decade, and trends tell us we are headed in the wrong direction.
To understand the current investment in global health research, Research!America tracks how much the public and private sectors in the U.S. invest in research on diseases and conditions that primarily affect poor populations in low- and middle-income countries.
Porter's Principles
In 2009, Research!America created Porter's Principles 
, a fact sheet to help advocates follow tips from our chair The Honorable John Edward Porter in reaching out to Congress to make research a higher priority. The fact sheet includes advocacy messages and tips for successful meetings with elected officials and their staffers.
We have partnered with PARADE magazine to inform its 74 million readers of what American think about important health and research issues. Results of the PARADE/Research!America Health Poll have been featured in more than 10 issues of the magazine.
Your Congress-Your Health Poll
As part of the Your Congress-Your Health constituent education initiative, Research!America and our partners commissioned a national poll featuring questions that correspond to those we asked of Congress. Results of the poll show strong support for research as a solution to our health reform and economic challenges.
Recent Poll Reports
- Americans Speak Out on Global Health Research
Even as Americans are tightening their belts, a majority (60%) say that they would be willing to pay $1 more per week in taxes for stronger U.S. investment in global health, and nearly as many (58%) want Congress to make global health a priority. - Economy, National Security, Health are Tops on Voters' Minds
Our fall 2008 poll shows that the most important election issue for a majority of Americans was the economy and financial crisis (58%), followed by the Iraq war/national security (9%), health care (6%) and the candidates' integrity (6%). 85% of Americans Want Presidential Debate on Science
Results of our national public opinion poll commissioned in partnership with ScienceDebate2008.com, show that Democrats and Republicans agree on need but disagree on issues. Also review the data sheets from the poll.
Public Health Toolkit and Advertisements
As part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded Prevention Research Institute, Research!America and our partners created a public health advocacy toolkit and a series of print ads highlighting the day-to-day benefits that prevention and public health research delivers to Americans.
These ads, spotlighting chronic diseases and unintentional injuries, emphasize the leadership role that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plays in protecting Americans' health from needless suffering. They are available for download through our toolkit.
Our partners in this initiative include:
- American Public Health Association
- Association of Schools of Public Health
- Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
- National Association of County & City Health Officials
Other Advertisements
Research!America advertises in selected national and local media outlets, both in print and online. We encourage our members and others to use the ads in their advocacy efforts, including outreach to elected officials.
- Injury Health Care Reform ad in Roll Call (Sept. 8, 2009) created by Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, and of which Research!America was a co-sponsor
- Global Health Research ad in The Hill (May 22, 2008)
- Your Congress-Your Health ad in The Hill (March 13, 2008)
- National Innovation Initiative ad in Roll Call, Congressional Quarterly and The Hill (December 2007)
- Global Health Research ad in The Hill (November 7, 2007)
- Global Health Research online skyscraper ad (November 2007)
- Global Health Research online banner ad (November 2007)
- Public Health Thank You Day ad 2007 (November 2007)
- Your Congress-Your Health ad in The Hill (July 24, 2007)
- Your Congress-Your Health ad in The Hill and Roll Call (May 22, 2007)
Research Takes Cents
Research!America's signature Research Takes Cents messages compare selected American leisure spending to the costs associated with conducting research. Low levels of research funding are not a result of the money not being available - it's just spent elsewhere.
Then-Now-Imagine
Research!America's Then-Now-Imagine messages describe the state of a condition or disease years ago (then), how research has improved the situation (now) and what further research might bring in the future (imagine).
History of Research!America Polling
Research!America has many years of experience gauging public opinion on health research. See a comprehensive list of the state and national polls we have commissioned since 1992.
For more information on our public opinion polling, please contact Stacie Propst, PhD, at spropst@researchamerica.org.
An analysis of more than a decade of our public opinion data, "Public Attitudes and Perceptions About Health-Related Research," by Mary Woolley and Stacie Propst, PhD, appeared in the September 21, 2005, issue of JAMA. Read the article (subscription required).