Impact of Political Party and Ideology on Perceptions of Health Disparities

While researchers and public health workers know about the social determinants of health and their relationship to health disparities, the perceptions of the general population have not been fully explored. Studies have found such perceptions vary by race, ethnicity and socioeconomic status. But political ideology and party affiliation may also play a role. In 2004 the Bush Administration belittled the conclusions of federal researchers linking race and socioeconomic status to health disparities. A 2007 Wisconsin survey found support for government intervention to decrease health disparities was greater among Democrats and those not believing in limited government. A 2009 Massachusetts poll found liberals and Democrats claiming the Massachusetts Health Care Reform was a success while conservatives and Republicans considered it a failure. This research explores the influence of socio-demographics, political party and ideology on perceptions of health disparities. A random digit dialed telephone survey of 1,036 Michigan residents asked four questions from a Kaiser Foundation study: How often do you think the health care system treats people unfairly based on (1) whether or not they have health insurance, (2) how well they speak English, (3) if a person's race or ethnic background affects whether they can get routine medical care when they need it and (4) the quality of care minorities receive compared to whites. About 80% believed that people are very or often treated unfairly on the basis of health insurance; 67% that people were treated unfairly on their spoken English, 53% that ethnic or racial background affects whether people can get medical care when they need it, and 25% that minorities received lower quality health care. Regression equations included race, income, age, type of community (urban, suburban, rural), union membership, and labor force participation as well as political party and ideology. Perceptions of unfair treatment based on health insurance were significantly impacted only by political party and ideology. Differential treatment based on speaking English was impacted by political party, ideology, respondent's race and urban-rural community. Disparate treatment based on ethnic/race was impacted by political party, ideology, race, community and age. Awareness of unequal quality of care was impacted by ideology, community and respondent's income. In conclusion, public perceptions of health disparities rest more heavily on political ideology and party affiliation than on race, community of residence or income. Gender, union membership and labor force participation had no affect on these perceptions if political party and ideology were included