Are people who vote healthier than those who don ’t?

A new policy brief by the  UCLA Center for Health Policy Researchshows that California adults who in are good health with little psychological distress are more likely to consistently vote in local, state and national elections than those with physical or psychological health issues.The brief, which usesdata from the center ’s 2017 and 2018 California Health Interview Survey,also provides evidence that state residents who vote tend to live in more advantaged communities than those who don ’t. The authors note that these disparities in voting may make it less likely that the needs of less healthy and more disadvantaged Californians are being heard and addressed.The percentage of adults who reported always voting was highest among those who said they were in excellent or very good health (40.9%) and who had experienced no psychological distress in the past year (40.1%), the authors found. Among those in fair or poor health, 32.7% said they always voted, while only 23.3% of respondents who had experienced psychological distress voted consistently.“We found differences in voting by health and neighborhood factors that suggest that people who vote are healthier, have better access to health care and live in more cohesive and safer neighborhoods than those who don’t vote,” said Susan Babey, lead author of the study andasenior research scientist at the center. “These differences in civic activities such as voting could contribute to policies that fail to meet the heal...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news