SHU Poll Results Show Health-Care Sustainability Resonates with Voters

Concerns include insurance costs and availability of health-care providers

A recent health-care sustainability poll initiated and designed by faculty of the department of health sciences and the School of Social Work and funded by the developing Institute for Sustainability & Social Justice at Sacred Heart University, indicates that Americans fear the loss or continuing deterioration of affordable access to quality health-care services, citing concerns about health insurance, challenges facing low-income and underserved communities and shortages of health-care professionals and new health workers.

Additionally, while more than half of those surveyed said they favor a universal-style health-care system, almost a third said they fear that universal access will burden the current system and lead to worse public and individual health outcomes.

Surveying included 2,000 respondents across the United States. Focused on health-care sustainability and related key issues such as access and affordability, two-fifths (43.8%) of those surveyed stressed concerns about lack of insurance or inadequate coverage and limited health-care access in low-income communities (40.8%) as primary barriers. Others cited systemic issues such as labor shortages in the industry, fragmented or disorganized health-care systems and public distrust or misinformation among the top barriers to health-care sustainability.

Regarding questions of access, those surveyed perceive rural communities (30.3%), people with disabilities (29.4%), older persons (28.4%) and Black/African Americans (28.1%) to be among the groups most underserved by the current U.S. health-care system. As a result, the vast majority of respondents (88.6%) believe it is important for the health-care industry to work in a way that supports equitable access to health-care services for all segments of the population.

Age differences play a role, as well. Respondents age 65+ (62.7%) and 55-64 (52.1%) are significantly more likely to cite insurance, or lack thereof, as a barrier compared to younger respondents age 18-34 (33.6%). One-third of rural respondents (32.7%) say rural access is a primary barrier to greater health-care sustainability. And those age 65+ (46.7%) and age 55-64 (37%) are significantly more likely to cite labor shortages as a barrier compared to younger respondents age 18-34 (26.7%) and age 35-54 (26.1%).

The vast majority of those surveyed (80.9%) say government and regulatory bodies have a role in supporting and incentivizing sustainable health-care practices. The level of intervention, however, differs according to political affiliation, as Democrats (91.7%) say it’s very important compared to Republicans (73.2%). Additionally, those with a college degree (84.7%) or post-graduate degree (85.7%) also place significantly more importance on regulations incentivizing sustainable health-care practices, compared to those with a high school degree (78.2%).

More than half of those surveyed believe in the importance of an inclusive health-care system that should treat and provide access to all individuals regardless of their immigration status (53.5%). In contrast, a smaller proportion, 26.7%, holds the view that undocumented immigrants should not be entitled to the same health-care access as U.S. citizens.

Almost nine of 10 respondents (86.7%) report health-care sustainability is either “very important” (50.7%) or “somewhat important” (36%). Further, a similar number (88%) say that improving health-care sustainability would be “very beneficial” (51%) or “somewhat beneficial” (37%) to their community. Health-care sustainability is more important to Democrats (92.8%) than Republicans (85.8%). Interestingly, rural respondents were slightly less likely to see a benefit to their community (85%) compared to the overall population.

The majority of survey respondents (58.2%) believe some solutions can be addressed through changes in our health-care and medical-education systems, including the integration of health- care sustainability philosophies and practices in health-care student training. But in contrast, 20.7% contend that medical education and health-care training should exclusively prioritize industry-best practices and the most advanced care available, regardless of sustainability considerations.

“As you might suspect, health-care sustainability and access challenges remain high on Americans’ radar going into 2024,” said Christina Gunther, chair of the health sciences department at SHU. “The notion of universal health care is highly supported as a potential solution for equitable access, especially for underserved and low-income communities, and for addressing often prohibitively high medical and health insurance costs. But there’s also consensus that we can’t simply shift into a universal system without examining the causes and longer-term solutions for addressing health care, structural racism and access barriers for poor Americans, particularly communities of color and recent immigrants.”

Professors Bronwyn Cross-Denny and Jennifer Wilson also worked on the poll with Gunther.

The survey documented a notable divide on the perceived sustainability of the U.S. health-care system, Gunther explains. While 42.7% of respondents express concern, perceiving the system to be unsustainable, 33.2% hold a contrasting view, believing in its current sustainability. However, what appears clear, she adds, is that health care may be top-of-mind among voters this election year as 45.8% of those surveyed say they are willing to vote for candidates that support more sustainable health care.

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