The Influence of COVID-19 on Public Support for Health Policy (Pre-Recorded)

• In Event: Beyond COVID-19: The Influence of Infectious Diseases on Public Health Policy (Pre-Recorded)

Abstract

COVID-19 has revealed several weaknesses in the healthcare and public health systems of the US and a number of countries. How will the pandemic affect public support for health policy issues that extend beyond COVID-19, including noncommunicable diseases, opioids, and vaccinations? On the one hand, the pandemic may create greater awareness of these problems, thus increasing support for policies to address them. On the other hand, the extent to which COVID-19 has dominated media coverage may draw attention away from issues other than the pandemic, polarize attitudes along partisan lines, or make the public more skeptical of the effectiveness of such policies, thus reducing willingness to support other health programs. Understanding how the public’s attitudes toward health policies have changed as a result of the pandemic has important implications for practitioners and advocates seeking to improve health outcomes. To address this question, I utilize data from an original survey conducted in the US on public support for various health policy issues after the COVID-19 pandemic began. A survey experiment primes people on COVID-19 and the pandemic, either before or after asking them about their level of support for various health policies. In addition, I compare internet search data in various countries to explore how the salience of these health issues has changed since the pandemic started.

Author

• Renu Singh, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology