all Robert J. Blendon stories

Survey of hurricane preparedness finds one-third on high risk coast will refuse evacuation order

404132862 — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 16:22:31 -0400

Thirty-one percent of residents surveyed in coastal areas said they wouldn't evacuate in the face of a major hurricane, even if told to do so by the government, according to a new survey of people in high-risk hurricane areas conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security. This is an increase from 2006 when 23% said they would not evacuate.

Survey: Many seniors don't understand Medicare drug benefit

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:42:09 -0400

When asked how well they understand the new Medicare drug benefit, more than six in 10 seniors (61 percent) say 'not too well' or 'not at all,' while more than one in three seniors (35 percent) say 'very' or 'somewhat' well. When asked whether the Medicare drug benefit would help them personally, more seniors say it would not (49 percent) than say it would (39 percent).

Overall, more than four in 10 seniors (43 percent) report they do not yet know if they will enroll in a Medicare drug plan for 2006; 37 percent say they do not plan to enroll; and one in five (20 percent) say they plan to enroll. Seniors without any drug coverage are most likely to say that they plan to enroll (28 percent, compared with 15 percent for those with existing drug coverage).

Most seniors substantially underestimate the number of drug plan choices that they will have, with just 5 percent correctly identifying that they will have more than 20 options for receiving their drug coverage. When informed that "the government has announced that most people on Medicare will have at least 40 different drug plans to choose from," almost three in four (73 percent) say that having many plans "makes it confusing and difficult to pick the best plan," while 22 percent say it is "helpful and provides an opportunity to choose the best plan."

The Kaiser Family Foundation/Harvard School of Public Health "The Medicare Drug Benefit: Beneficiary Perspectives Just Before Implementation" was conducted and analyzed by researchers at the Kaiser Family Foundation and Harvard School of Public Health including Professor Robert Blendon.

Survey of Katrina evacuees in Houston: Half trapped in homes waited three days or more for rescue

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:21:50 -0400

One-third (34 percent) of Katrina evacuees in a survey reported that they were trapped in their homes and had to be rescued. Half (50 percent) of those who were trapped said they waited three or more days to be rescued.

Key health-related findings included:

• 52 percent reported having no health insurance coverage at the time of the hurricane. Of those with coverage, 34 percent said it is through Medicaid and 16 percent through Medicare. Before the hurricane 66 percent of people evacuated to Houston shelters used hospital or clinics as their main source of care and of those, a majority (54 percent) used Charity Hospital of New Orleans, substantially more than the second most common care site (University Hospital of New Orleans, at 8 percent).

• 33 percent reported experiencing health problems or injuries as a result of the hurricane and 78 percent of them were currently receiving care for their ailments.

Many Americans at high risk from flu not vaccinated

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:33:51 -0400

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention highly recommends the flu vaccine for certain high-risk groups including people with chronic illnesses, children between the ages of six and 23 months, and people aged 65 and over. A national poll conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health Project on the Public and Biological Security found in December 2003 that nearly half (47%) of people with chronic illnesses had not had a flu vaccination in the past three months. In addition, more than three-fourths (78%) of parents reported that their children ages six to 23 months had not received a flu vaccine. This was the case even though the vaccine recommendation for these young children was widely known by Americans (74%). One in 10 Americans (10%) reported that they had not gotten a flu vaccine due at least in part to shortages. About one-third of these people (3% of the public) still planned to get vaccinated in the next three months, but two-thirds (7%) do not. The study was designed and analyzed by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Strong public support for spraying against mosquitoes

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:27:32 -0400

The opening study of the Project on Biological Security and the Public found that one-third (33 percent) of Americans who live in areas where there are a lot of mosquitoes think they or a family member is very (9 percent) or somewhat (24 percent) likely to get sick from the virus in the next 12 months. In addition, 32 percent of dog owners in high-mosquito areas were concerned that their dog might get the West Nile virus. In those high-mosquito areas where there has been special spraying against mosquitoes to prevent the spread of the West Nile virus, nine in 10 (91 percent) approve of the spraying. Nationwide, three-fourths (77 percent) of Americans said they would favor special spraying to prevent the spread of West Nile if it appeared in their area. "The public has become sufficiently concerned about the West Nile virus that they are willing to take some risk on mosquito spraying, a controversial issue in many areas," said Robert J. Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. The project was funded through the federally-supported Center for Public Health Preparedness at the Harvard School of Public Health.

Many Americans hold incorrect beliefs about smallpox and smallpox vaccine

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:27:24 -0400

If physicians are reluctant to be vaccinated themselves against smallpox, large numbers of Americans will be unwilling to do it voluntarily. Also, if there are deaths from side effects of the vaccine, the public will be less willing to be vaccinated. "Depending on events, many Americans may be cautious when deciding whether or not to take the smallpox vaccine," said Robert J. Blendon, professor of Health Policy and Political Analysis at the Harvard School of Public Health. The study also showed that the majority of Americans hold a number of beliefs about smallpox and the smallpox vaccine that are incorrect, based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These misconceptions could lead some people to make inappropriate decisions about how they should respond to the threat of smallpox. These findings, based on interviews with 1,006 Americans nationwide between Oct. 8 and Dec. 8, 2002, appeared in the Jan. 30, 2003, print edition of the New England Journal of Medicine. The Harvard study was funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Physicians say they have personally experienced medical errors

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:27:21 -0400

A nationwide survey examined the views of 831 physicians in April-July 2002 and 1,207 adults in April-June 2002. Some 42 percent of the public and more than one-third of U.S. doctors say they or their family members have experienced medical errors in the course of receiving medical care. "One of the striking findings of this study is that physicians disagree with national experts on the effectiveness of many of the proposed solutions to the problem of medical errors," said Robert Blendon, professor of Health Policy at the Harvard School of Public Health. "This survey provides strong documentation that medical errors represent a problem that affects a significant number of people," said Drew Altman, president and CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation. "The fact that so many physicians report personal experiences with errors corroborates what we heard from the public." Researchers from Harvard and the Kaiser Family Foundation discussed their findings in a New England Journal of Medicine article published Dec. 12, 2002.

Three in five Americans would get vaccinated for smallpox

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:22:33 -0400

Substantial public interest in receiving a smallpox vaccination grows in part from continuing fears about a future bioterrorist attack. Nine months after the September 11th attacks, more than four in 10 (43 percent) of Americans surveyed in the summer of 2002 reported being worried about a future attack using smallpox, down from 53 percent in November 2001. In the near run, the public sees little risk that they or a family member will get smallpox. Only one in 12 Americans (8 percent) believes that they or someone in their immediate family is likely to contract smallpox during the next 12 months. This compares with 20 percent who believe they or a family member are likely to be injured in some other type of terrorist attack. Most Americans (74 percent) are at least mildly optimistic that they would survive if they contracted smallpox and received immediate medical care. This study is the third in a series by the Harvard School of Public Health/Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Survey Project on Americans' Response to Bioterrorism. The project director is Robert J. Blendon of the School of Public Health.

Survey shows Americans not panicking over anthrax

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:16:35 -0400

In the wake of biological terror attacks perpetrated by unknown persons sending anthrax-laced letters through the U.S. mail, the Harvard School of Public Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation launched their Survey Project on Americans' Response to Biological Terrorism. The first report of the ongoing survey, released on Nov. 8, 2001, found that most Americans think they and their families have a relatively low risk of contracting anthrax or smallpox. According to the survey, Americans believe it is far more likely that they or someone in their immediate family will get the flu (73% very or somewhat likely), or be injured in a fall (50%) or automobile accident (41%) during the next 12 months than that they will contract anthrax (14%) or smallpox (9%). The families of postal workers had a different perspective, however. About one-third (32%) of Americans from households where someone works for the U.S. Postal Service believe that they or someone in their family are very or somewhat likely to contract anthrax. And though most Americans think they are at relatively low risk of contracting anthrax or smallpox, a majority (57%) have taken one or more precautions in response to reports of bioterrorism.