Tuesday, May 15, 2012

The Case for Increased Funding for Research in Pulmonary and Critical Care

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22582163


Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2012 May 10. [Epub ahead of print]

The Case for Increased Funding for Research in Pulmonary and Critical Care.

Source

University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States.

Abstract

The current economic and political climate places future funding of the NIH and other federal biomedical research programs in jeopardy. This Perspective seeks to arm the diverse membership of the ATS with the information necessary to understand and articulate the value of biomedical research in their respective communities. We provide an historical overview of NIH funding in general and of allocations directed at respiratory-related research in particular. We argue that this is in fact an opportune time to expand investments in biomedical research and that doing so makes sense from the perspectives of improving health, curtailing health care expenditures, and job creation and economic growth. We further argue that current levels of allocation towards respiratory research are incommensurate with the medical, economic, and societal burden of respiratory disease in the United States. Respiratory disease currently is the only leading cause of death that has risen, rather than fallen, in recent decades. Declines in the burden of cardiovascular disease and cancer followed substantial increases in research funding, and slowing the rising burden of respiratory disease will likewise require a greatly expanded investment in pulmonary, critical care, and sleep research.

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