Table 2. Attitudes towards science, technology, health care and understanding of newborn screening.
| Total (n=1213) | ||
|---|---|---|
| n | % | |
| Attitudes towards technology | ||
| Modern medicine can cure almost any illness for people who have access to the most advanced technology & treatment | ||
| Agreea | 494 | 40.7 |
| Neutral | 299 | 24.7 |
| Disagreeb | 420 | 34.6 |
| Importance in accessing the most advanced tests, drugs, medical procedures and equipment | ||
| Absolutely essential/very important | 1075 | 88.6 |
| Not at all important/somewhat important | 138 | 11.4 |
| Trust in health carec | ||
| The government will ensure a high quality health care system | ||
| Agreea | 639 | 52.7 |
| Neutral | 393 | 32.4 |
| Disagreeb | 181 | 14.9 |
| Governance of heath cared | ||
| Decision on health care programmes should be based primarily… | ||
| …on the advice of experts | 902 | 74.4 |
| …on scientific evidence about risks involved | 990 | 81.6 |
| Attitude toward sciencee (n=1102) | ||
| Medical research will help to cure illnesses such as AIDS, cancer | ||
| Strongly disagree | 7 | 0.6 |
| Disagree | 20 | 1.8 |
| Neutral | 119 | 10.8 |
| Agree | 431 | 39.1 |
| Strongly agree | 525 | 47.6 |
| Most medical researchers want to work on things that will make life better for the average person | ||
| Strongly disagree | 12 | 1.1 |
| Disagree | 29 | 2.6 |
| Neutral | 143 | 13.0 |
| Agree | 495 | 44.9 |
| Strongly agree | 423 | 38.4 |
| The privacy and confidentiality of people who participate in medical research will be protected | ||
| Strongly disagree | 11 | 1.0 |
| Disagree | 24 | 2.2 |
| Neutral | 176 | 16.0 |
| Agree | 462 | 41.9 |
| Strongly agree | 429 | 38.9 |
| Awareness of NBS | ||
| How much did you know about NBS before today? | ||
| Never heard of it | 362 | 29.8 |
| Heard of it but knew nothing about it | 377 | 31.1 |
| Knew a little about it | 424 | 35.0 |
| Knew a lot about it | 50 | 4.1 |
| Understanding of NBS and its effects | Mean (SD) | |
| Index of NBS understandingf | 18.9 (2.2) | |
a
Respondents checking ‘strongly agree' and ‘agree' to these questions were included in this category.
b
Respondents checking ‘strongly disagree' and ‘disagree' to these questions were included in this category.
c
Selected item from a public trust in health care survey.29
d
Selected items from the Eurobarometer's Social Values on Science and Technology Survey.31 Respondents were able to select one response from these two options.
e
Selected items from the Eurobarometer's Social Values on Science and Technology Survey.31 ‘Confidence in science' index created (alpha=0.70; 0–1 scale, mean=0.80, SD=0.16).
f
Index sums together the number of correct responses given to 21 questions (alpha=0.67).