Disease Prevention and Health Promotion: It Often Takes a Serious Illness To Get People's Attention According to New Harris Interactive Survey.

Business Editors, Health/Medical Writers

ROCHESTER, NY--(BW HealthWire)--March 12, 2001

65% of survivors said, "Had I known, I would have done more things

to stay healthy."

"Everyone talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it," wrote Charles Dudley Warner (not Mark Twain, to whom it is often attributed) in 1897. Almost everyone, our research shows, believes that health and disease prevention is effective and important, but all too few people do anything about it until they have had a serious disease and - if they are lucky enough - survived.

In a new Harris Interactive survey, people who had survived a serious illness were asked if their experience had changed their attitudes and behavior, and whether they now wished they had done more to prevent the diseases they had suffered from.

The answers to these questions were a resounding "Yes." In hindsight, they say they wish they had done much more to prevent their diseases, and also say they have now adopted much healthier lifestyles. Furthermore, as a result of their disease experience, they are far more supportive now than they were before of public policies that would promote good health and prevent disease in the future.

That is better than nothing; most experts believe it is never too late to stop smoking or to start exercising, eat more healthily and lose weight. However, it clearly would be far better if people had done all these things long before they became ill. In many cases, alas, it is a case of "bolting the stable door after the horses have fled."

A full version of this article written by Harris Interactive's Humphrey Taylor, Chairman of the Harris Poll, and Robert Leitman, Group President, Health Care, Public Policy and Education Research, can be found in the downloadable PDF of this week's Harris Interactive Health Care News, issue 10, at http://www.harrisinteractive.com/about/vert_healthcare.asp.

Methodology

This survey of 334 survivors was part of a research project conducted for Research! America and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. People were interviewed online in December 2000. The sample of survivors was drawn from the Harris Interactive online panel of more than seven million respondents. The nationwide sample was weighted, using data from other surveys, to be representative of all survivors.

Most survivors have changed their lifestyles as a result of their disease - just as President Eisenhower stopped smoking, and never smoked again, after his first heart attack.

Large majorities of the survivors of serious illnesses say they are now better than they were before they became ill at getting regular preventive care (79%), eating a healthy diet (70%) and getting information about specific diseases (67%). Substantial minorities say they are now better than they were at getting regular exercise (42%), drinking or smoking less (39%) and controlling their weight (36%).

                             Table 1
    Many Changes in Behavior of Survivors Following Their Illness

Survivors say they are now better at:


Getting regular preventative health care                 79%

Making sure you eat a healthy diet                       70%

Keeping up to date with info about specific diseases     67%

Getting regular exercise                                 42%

Drinking in moderation & reducing the amount you smoke   39%

Keeping your weight at a healthy level                   36%


Because of their brush with disease, substantial majorities of
survivors are now more concerned about the health behaviors of their
families (80%), what state and local governments (62%) and the federal
governments (60%) are doing to prevent disease, and what their
communities (56%) are doing to keep people healthy.


                            Table 2

         Most survivors are more concerned than they were
                     before their illness


Survivors say that they are now more concerned about:

What your family is doing to keep themselves free from
 disease, injury, & disability                           80%

What the state or local government is doing to keep
 people free from disease, injury & disability           62%

What the federal government is doing to keep people free
 from disease, injury & disability                       60%

What your local community is doing to keep people free
 from disease, injury & disability                       56%

Furthermore, most survivors have become activists, supporting programs
that promote healthy living (68%), talking to other people about
healthy lifestyles (67%), and they are more supportive of prevention
research (66%). Survivors are also much more likely to have given
money to prevention-oriented charities (56%).

                             Table 3

     Most survivors have become activists for prevention research
              as a result of having a serious illness

Survivors say that because of their disease they have:

Become more supportive of programs that promote
 healthy living                                          68%

Talked to other people about the importance of
 preventing disease by living a healthy lifestyle        67%

Become more supportive of research that aims to find
 ways of keeping people free from disease, injury
 or disability                                           66%

Given money to a charity that tries to keep people
 free from disease, injury or disability                 56%

Raised money for a charity that tries to keep people
 free from disease, injury & disability                  33%

Joined a patient support or advocacy group               23%

Called or written to any of your elected officials on
 behalf of an issue associated with keeping people free
 from disease, injury or disability                       8%


In reply to another set of questions, most survivors report that their
disease experience has made prevention issues more important to them
(75%) and that they wish they had known more about what they could
have done (but often did not do) to have avoided their diseases (55%).

A particularly poignant set of replies came from 65% of survivors who
said, "Had I known, I would have done more things to stay healthy."



                            Table 4

             Other Reactions to Consequences of
                 Surviving a Serious Illness

                       Base: Survivors


It "made disease prevention issues more important to me" 75%

"Had I known ... I would have done more things to
 stay healthy"                                           65%

"I wish I had known more about things that could be done
 to stay free from disease"                              55%

While it is good news that so many survivors have changed their behavior and their attitudes, it is tragic that it takes a major disease to get their attention. The sad truth is that many diseases could be prevented or delayed if those who are now healthy thought, felt and behaved like those who've survived their diseases.

About Harris Interactive

Harris Interactive (Nasdaq: HPOL), the global leader in online market research, uses Internet-based and traditional methodologies to provide its clients with information about the views, experiences, behaviors and attitudes of people worldwide. Known for its Harris Poll, Harris Interactive has 45 years of experience in providing its clients with market research and polling services including custom, multi-client and service bureau research, as well as customer relationship management services. Through its U.S. and Global Network offices, Harris Interactive conducts research around the world, in multiple, localized languages. Harris Interactive uses its proprietary technology to survey its database of more than 7 million online panelists. For more information about Harris Interactive, please visit our website at www.harrisinteractive.com. EOE M/F/D/V