TY - JOUR
T1 - When talk is not cheap
T2 - What factors predict political campaign messaging on social determinants of health issues?
AU - Gollust, Sarah E.
AU - Frenier, Chris
AU - Tait, Margaret
AU - Baum, Laura L.
AU - Kennedy-Hendricks, Alene
AU - Niederdeppe, Jeff
AU - Franklin Fowler, Erika
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. World Medical & Health Policy published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Policy Studies Organization.
PY - 2022/9
Y1 - 2022/9
N2 - Political candidates use campaign communication to signal to the public which policy issues they consider important. However, the factors that shape political discourse related to the social determinants of health have not been adequately studied. We examined the volume and predictors of attention to three issues—jobs, income inequality, and early childhood education—among campaign ads in 2011–2012 (N = 10,467 ads, aired 4,025,771 times) and in 2015–2016 (N = 9926 ads, aired 3,809,887 times). While attention to jobs was common in campaign ads (41% and 21% of ads in 2011–2012 and 2015–2016), attention to economic inequality (11% and 4%) and early childhood education (0.4% and 0.9%) was much less common. Campaign-related factors (especially partisanship) explain much of the variation, as compared to community demographic conditions, although campaign ads referenced jobs more often in areas with higher unemployment in 2015–2016. Future research should explore political responsiveness to the factors that shape health in communities.
AB - Political candidates use campaign communication to signal to the public which policy issues they consider important. However, the factors that shape political discourse related to the social determinants of health have not been adequately studied. We examined the volume and predictors of attention to three issues—jobs, income inequality, and early childhood education—among campaign ads in 2011–2012 (N = 10,467 ads, aired 4,025,771 times) and in 2015–2016 (N = 9926 ads, aired 3,809,887 times). While attention to jobs was common in campaign ads (41% and 21% of ads in 2011–2012 and 2015–2016), attention to economic inequality (11% and 4%) and early childhood education (0.4% and 0.9%) was much less common. Campaign-related factors (especially partisanship) explain much of the variation, as compared to community demographic conditions, although campaign ads referenced jobs more often in areas with higher unemployment in 2015–2016. Future research should explore political responsiveness to the factors that shape health in communities.
KW - advertising
KW - communication
KW - health policy
KW - politics
KW - social determinants of health
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111473876&partnerID=8YFLogxK
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U2 - 10.1002/wmh3.470
DO - 10.1002/wmh3.470
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85111473876
SN - 2153-2028
VL - 14
SP - 464
EP - 489
JO - World Medical and Health Policy
JF - World Medical and Health Policy
IS - 3
ER -