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Public Responses to Health Disparities: How Group Cues Influence Support for Government Intervention

Author

Listed:
  • Elizabeth Rigby
  • Joe Soss
  • Bridget C. Booske
  • Angela M. K. Rohan
  • Stephanie A. Robert

Abstract

Objective. To examine whether public support for government intervention to address health disparities varies when disparities are framed in terms of different social groups. Method. A survey experiment was embedded in a public opinion poll of Wisconsin adults. Respondents were randomly assigned to answer questions about either racial, economic, or education disparities in health. Ordered logit regression analyses examine differences across experimental conditions in support for government intervention to address health disparities. Results. Health disparities between economic groups received the broadest support for government intervention, while racial disparities in health received the least support for government intervention. These differences were explained by variation in how respondents' perceived and evaluated health disparities between different social groups. Conclusion. Efforts to garner public support for policies aimed at eliminating health disparities should attend to the politics of social diversity, including the public's disparate perceptions and evaluations of health disparities defined by different social groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Elizabeth Rigby & Joe Soss & Bridget C. Booske & Angela M. K. Rohan & Stephanie A. Robert, 2009. "Public Responses to Health Disparities: How Group Cues Influence Support for Government Intervention," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 90(5), pages 1321-1340, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:90:y:2009:i:5:p:1321-1340
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2009.00646.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Schneider, Anne & Ingram, Helen, 1993. "Social Construction of Target Populations: Implications for Politics and Policy," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 87(2), pages 334-347, June.
    2. Blaxter, Mildred, 1997. "Whose fault is it? People's own conceptions of the reasons for health inequalities," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 44(6), pages 747-756, March.
    3. Alesina, Alberto & Di Tella, Rafael & MacCulloch, Robert, 2004. "Inequality and happiness: are Europeans and Americans different?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(9-10), pages 2009-2042, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christopher E. Clarke & Jeff Niederdeppe & Helen C. Lundell, 2012. "Narratives and Images Used by Public Communication Campaigns Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Health Disparities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-24, November.
    2. Gollust, Sarah E. & Haselswerdt, Jake, 2023. "Who does COVID-19 hurt most? Perceptions of unequal impact and political implications," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 323(C).
    3. Sekou Franklin, 2017. "The Politics of Race, Administrative Appeals, and Medicaid Disenrollment in Tennessee," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 6(1), pages 1-15, January.
    4. Gollust, Sarah E. & Eboh, Ijeoma & Barry, Colleen L., 2012. "Picturing obesity: Analyzing the social epidemiology of obesity conveyed through US news media images," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 74(10), pages 1544-1551.
    5. Liu, Jiawei & Niederdeppe, Jeff, 2024. "Effects of communicating health disparities using social comparison framing: A comprehensive review," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    6. Baute, Sharon, 2025. "Health inequality attributions and support for healthcare policy," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 374(C).

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