Document Type

Article

Publication Date

7-2026

Identifier

DOI: 10.1093/haschl/qxag166; PMCID: PMC13404996

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Understanding how Americans think about public health and the role of government institutions is crucial for informing effective health communication in a polarized political climate.

METHODS: We deployed an open-ended national survey of 1004 adults in October 2025 to assess public perceptions of these topics.

RESULTS: Respondents associated the term "public health" with health for everyone (44%) and health of everyone (23%), alongside healthcare (20%) and other themes. The most common perceived government benefit was facilitating access to healthcare (39%)-particularly by addressing cost (16%). Among perceived government harms, more Republicans than Democrats cited overregulation (16% vs 8%, P < 0.01), limiting personal freedoms (16% vs 6%, P < 0.001), and inefficiency (10% vs 4%, P < 0.01); more Democrats than Republicans mentioned dismissing science (7% vs 2%, P < 0.01) and defunding (7% vs 2%, P = 0.02). Weighted analyses yielded minimal substantive differences from unweighted findings.

CONCLUSION: Findings reveal both cross-partisan common ground in term associations and divergent concerns regarding government action. Public health messaging should leverage shared priorities and acknowledge partisan concerns about government roles.

Journal Title

Health Aff Sch

Volume

4

Issue

7

First Page

166

Last Page

166

PubMed ID

42516523

Keywords

communications; government; mixed methods; partisanship; politics; public health; public opinion; qualitative research

Comments

Grants and funding

This article is available under the Creative Commons CC-BY-NC license and permits non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Publisher's Link: https://academic.oup.com/healthaffairsscholar/article/4/7/qxag166/8719583

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