The survey was conducted in the United States and therefore takes into account the context of political polarization in the country (GettyImages / Getty Images).
When analyzing health for some, doctors and researchers take into account data such as age, gender, or socioeconomic factors (education, health, economics). And if on top of that they asked for more Political Views?
New research from the University of Kansas in the United States suggests that such information can be just as important a “social determinant of health” as the examples above, especially in a public health crisis like the one we are facing now.
It should be noted that the survey was conducted in the United States and therefore takes into account the context of political polarization in the country, which led to events such as the invasion of the Capitol by the former president’s voters in early 2021. Donald Trump.
At the same time, the idea that ideologies can influence health decisions is not new. For example, studies have already been conducted on the impact of policy on public opinion about cigarette smoking.
Mugur Geana, lead author of the study, says that research is not intended to defend any ideology or claim that someone is right or wrong. According to a researcher interview with EurekAlert!, The coronavirus pandemic has provided a unique insight into how political ideology can influence behavior.
“This study shows that political commitment and ideology appear to be some of the most important factors influencing health decisions. COVID-19Geana said.
How was the study conducted?
TO study, the authors conducted two studies on ideology and health, as well as an analysis of other articles in this area. In addition to questions about political opinion, respondents answered questions that indicate knowledge of COVID-19, their behavior, and other demographic information.
The respondents also answered where they received information about the pandemic, whether they want to get vaccinated (the study was conducted from October to November 2020), whether they have already contracted the disease and whether they followed recommendations such as wearing masks and social distance.
Analysis of the data from both surveys showed that ideology was an important predictor for all behavioral variables and, in most cases, the strongest.
Finally, the authors reviewed 181 articles on covid-19 and analyzed the results of 44 selected studies on the ideology of health behavior.
Of the 141 assessments out of 44 studies, political ideology was a significant predictor in 112 (79%) and showed the greatest impact on covid-19 measures in almost half of these assessments (44%). No other variable has been the best predictor.
“It was obvious that we expected to see differences in attitudes and behavior based on political commitment, but we wanted to know what impact this has and if our findings reflect other studies,” Geana said.
“In times of crisis such as a pandemic and in a polarized society, ideology is an important determinant of people’s health behavior.”
