Health is an essential factor for quality of life
20.02.2023 16:47
What determines the quality of life of Germans? Your health – it comes first. Financial security, family ties, a nice home, a good circle of friends and acquaintances and other aspects only follow at a considerable distance. The majority of Germans are convinced that health is not only the essential factor for individual well-being, the health of the population is also a prerequisite for social prosperity.
This was the result of a representative population survey commissioned by the biotech company Amgen. “In the current public debate, health is usually presented as a cost factor,” says Manfred Heinzer, Managing Director of Amgen GmbH. “This is the wrong perspective: it is not the costs, but the benefits of health and health care that should determine the debate.”
Quality of life and health are closely linked. All age groups cite their own health as the decisive aspect for a high quality of life (53 percent). As we age, health becomes more important as an indicator of quality of life. Financial security is the second most frequently cited factor by respondents as a factor in their well-being, but receives over 10 percentage points less approval (42 percent).
Individual health and social prosperity
Most of those surveyed feel healthy if they are free from physical pain (57 percent), can move without restrictions (53 percent) and have no mental impairments (49 percent). The vast majority of Germans (87 percent) even share the World Health Organization's (WHO) comprehensive definition of health, which describes health as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and is not limited to the absence of disease or infirmity.
For Germans, health is an individual issue. Therefore, almost two thirds advocate that the focus should be on people and not on the economy or society. Nevertheless, those surveyed see the health of the population as an important prerequisite for the country's prosperity. Investments in health are therefore important for growth and employment. “The corona pandemic has shown us the systemic relevance of health and health care,” says Heinzer. “Politicians should therefore recognize the achievements in research, drug development and health care and promote the willingness to perform in the health system with investments instead of hindering it with austerity measures.”
Trust in healthcare
To maintain their health, three quarters of Germans trust the German healthcare system (76 percent) and, above all, the people who work in the healthcare system (79 percent). In addition, the pharmaceutical industry and research into new therapies are considered to be of great importance in healthcare. Compared to politics, employers and employees' personal responsibility, Germans have the greatest confidence in pharmaceutical companies when it comes to making a contribution to the health of employees and society.
To the study
For the study on the value of health and innovative therapies, 1,000 Germans were surveyed representatively on behalf of Amgen. The market research company Toluna conducted the survey online in August 2022.