Too sick to vote? Public health and voter turnout in Russia during the 1990s

2003 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-68 ◽  
Author(s):  
Therese C. Reitan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Economic Resources ◽  
The Political ◽  
Aggregate Level ◽  
Regional Data ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Political Resources ◽  
Electoral Turnout

Determinants of political participation and electoral turnout are still of great interest within political science and three broad types of factors have been found to influence turnout significantly; individual or area-specific traits, characteristics of the electoral systems, and features relating to the political climate in individual elections. Within the first group, socio-economic resources, typically education, income, and occupation, have been found to be particularly important. This article proposes that public health is also a relevant form of social and political resources at the aggregate level. Regional data on life expectancy and electoral turnout from Russia—a country with dramatically deteriorated public health during the 1990s—were therefore correlated with each other. Overall, correlations were positive and significant, and there is, then, reason to investigate further the possible relationship between public health and the propensity to turn out at elections.

Quotas and Political Participation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francesca R. Jensenius
Keyword(s):  
Political Participation ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
The Political ◽  
Key Indicator ◽  
Political Experience ◽  
Percentage Points ◽  
Electoral Turnout

Chapter 6 examines changes in political participation among voters, focusing on a key indicator in the study of democracies: electoral turnout. Data on state election outcomes between 1974 and 2007 show that turnout plummeted in the first election after constituencies became reserved in the 1970s. Gradually, there was a narrowing gap in voter turnout between SC-reserved and nonreserved constituencies, but after more than 30 years there was still a difference of several percentage points. Exploring the reasons, the chapter shows that this variation in political participation it was not mainly due to caste bias, or feelings of being disempowered, but rather because of the weaker networks and mobilizational capacity of SC politicians. As the political experience and mobilizational capacity of SC politicians has increased, so has voter turnout.

Strengthening of occupational health promotion by the German Prevention Health Care Act

2019 ◽  
pp. 188-190
Author(s):  
Diana Hart
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Occupational Health Promotion ◽  
And Control

All countries are faced with the problem of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD): implement prevention strategies eff ectively, keep up the momentum with long term benefi ts at the individual and the population level, at the same time tackling hea lth inequalities. Th e aff ordability of therapy and care including innovative therapies is going to be one of the key public health priorities in the years to come. Germany has taken in the prevention and control of NCDs. Germany’s health system has a long history of guaranteeing access to high-quality treatment through universal health care coverage. Th r ough their membership people are entitled to prevention and care services maintaining and restoring their health as well as long term follow-up. Like in many other countries general life expectancy has been increasing steadily in Germany. Currently, the average life expectancy is 83 and 79 years in women and men, respectively. Th e other side of the coin is that population aging is strongly associated with a growing burden of disease from NCDs. Already over 70 percent of all deaths in Germany are caused by four disease entities: cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. Th ese diseases all share four common risk factors: smoking, alcohol abuse, lack of physical activity and overweight. At the same time, more and more people become long term survivors of disease due to improved therapy and care. Th e German Government and public health decision makers are aware of the need for action and have responded by initiating and implementing a wide spectrum of activities. One instrument by strengthening primary prevention is the Prevention Health Care Act. Its overarching aim is to prevent NCDs before they can manifest themselves by strengthening primary prevention and health promotion in diff erent sett ings. One of the main emphasis of the Prevention Health Care Act is the occupational health promotion at the workplace.

scholarly journals Populist radical right parties, welfare policy and population health in Europe

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Rinaldi ◽  
M P M Bekker
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Population Health ◽  
State Policy ◽  
Political System ◽  
Radical Right ◽  
The Political ◽  
Policy Agenda ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background The political system is an important influencing factor for population health but is often neglected in the public health literature. This scoping review uses insights from political science to explore the possible public health consequences of the rise of populist radical right (PRR) parties in Europe, with welfare state policy as a proxy. The aim is to generate hypotheses about the relationship between the PRR, political systems and public health. Methods A literature search on PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar resulted in 110 original research articles addressing 1) the relationship between the political system and welfare state policy/population health outcomes or 2) the relationship between PRR parties and welfare state policy/population health outcomes in Europe. Results The influence of political parties on population health seems to be mediated by welfare state policies. Early symptoms point towards possible negative effects of the PRR on public health, by taking a welfare chauvinist position. Despite limited literature, there are preliminary indications that the effect of PRR parties on health and welfare policy depends on vote-seeking or office-seeking strategies and may be mediated by the political system in which they act. Compromises with coalition partners, electoral institutions and the type of healthcare system can either restrain or exacerbate the effects of the PRR policy agenda. EU laws and regulations can to some extent restrict the nativist policy agenda of PRR parties. Conclusions The relationship between the PRR and welfare state policy seems to be mediated by the political system, meaning that the public health consequences will differ by country. Considering the increased popularity of populist parties in Europe and the possibly harmful consequences for public health, there is a need for further research on the link between the PRR and public health.

Canadian Exceptionalism: Explaining Differences over Time in Provincial and Federal Voter Turnout

2001 ◽  
Vol 34 (2) ◽  
pp. 299-319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donley T. Studlar
Keyword(s):  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Population Density ◽  
Multiple Regression Analysis ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
The Political ◽  
Federal Level ◽  
Industrial Democracies ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Over Time ◽  
Cross National

Canada is unusual among advanced industrial democracies in having some provinces which regularly have greater voter turnouts for provincial than for federal elections. Provincial and federal turnouts by province in Canada are analyzed for the 1945-1998 period using multiple regression analysis, both for each set of elections and by comparing differences between the two. Federal turnout has declined over the years but provincial turnout appears to have increased slightly. Although the effects found here largely confirm previous findings about the relative effects of different types of variables found for the Canadian federal level only, several of the political explanations previously supported in cross-national research find less support. Instead, region, population density, months since the last federal or provincial election, and season of the year generally have greater and sometimes more consistent effects. This suggests the need for more studies of turnout in democracies at sub-central levels.

Henry Ingersoll Bowditch (1808–82): American physician, public health advocate and social reformer

2011 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-150
Author(s):  
Paul M Butler
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Inductive Reasoning ◽  
The Political ◽  
Social Reformer ◽  
Social Perspectives ◽  
Diagnostic Use ◽  
Political Reality ◽  
Health Advocate ◽  
American Physician ◽  
Statistical Trends

Henry Ingersoll Bowditch, a Bostonian physician from the mid-19th century, lived a passionate life full of commitment and devotion to various noble causes – he was a champion of public health, an advocate for inclusion of women in medicine and a staunch abolitionist, all unpopular social perspectives at that time in medical and political history. Seemingly difficult personality traits including his stubbornness and moralistic outlook were likely ‘adaptive’ as he confronted the political reality of major institutional change. His interest in statistical trends and environmental influences and his inductive reasoning led to a deeper understanding of consumption (tuberculosis), the widespread diagnostic use of the stethoscope and thoracocentesis.

Gender Gaps in Electoral Turnout: Surveys versus Administrative Censuses

2021 ◽  
pp. 147892992110195
Author(s):  
Paulo Cox ◽  
Mauricio Morales Quiroga
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Gender Gap ◽  
Voter Turnout ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Electoral Participation ◽  
Gender Gaps ◽  
Electoral Turnout ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Official Data ◽  
Rule Out

Gender gaps in voter turnout are usually studied using opinion surveys rather than official census data. This is because administrative censuses usually do not disaggregate turnout according to voters’ sex. Without this official information, much of the research on gender gaps in electoral turnout relies on survey respondents’ self-reported behavior, either before or after an election. The decision to use survey data implies facing several potential drawbacks. Among them are the turnout overstatement bias and the attrition or nonresponse bias, both affecting the estimation of factors explaining turnout and any related statistical analysis. Furthermore, these biases may be correlated with covariates such as gender: men, more than women, may systematically overstate their electoral participation. We analyze turnout gender gaps in Chile, comparing national surveys with official administrative data, which in Chile are publicly available. Crucially, the latter includes the official record of sex, age, and the electoral behavior—whether the individual voted or not—for about 14 million registered individuals. Based on a series of statistical models, we find that analysis based on survey data is likely to rule out gender gaps in electoral participation. Carrying out the same exercises, but with official data, leads to the opposite conclusion, namely, that there is a sizable gender gap favoring women.

scholarly journals The Contribution of Avoidable Mortality to the Life Expectancy Gains in Korea between 1998 and 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6499
Author(s):  
Jinwook Bahk ◽  
Kyunghee Jung-Choi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Traffic Accidents ◽  
Causes Of Death ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cerebrovascular Diseases ◽  
Avoidable Mortality ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Major Factors

This study evaluated the contribution of avoidable causes of death to gains in life expectancy between 1998 and 2017 in Korea. This is a multi-year, cross-sectional study using national data. Death certificate data from 1998 to 2017 were obtained from Statistics Korea. The difference in life expectancy between 1998 and 2017 by age and cause of death were decomposed using Arriaga’s method. Life expectancy rose 7.73 years over 20 years in Korea, which was largely (more than 50%) due to changes in avoidable causes of death. As age increased, the contribution to changes in life expectancy increased, and the gain in life expectancy due to avoidable causes also tended to increase. The major factors that drove that gain in life expectancy were avoidable causes such as cerebrovascular diseases and traffic accidents. The gain in life expectancy from preventable diseases was greater in men than in women. The results of this study indicate that active public health programs have been effective in improving life expectancy in Korea. Moreover, avoidable mortality could be further improved with good public health policy. Health policy aimed at reducing amenable and preventable deaths should be further implemented to promote population health.

scholarly journals A turbulent time: government sources post-2016 presidential election

2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 129-142
Author(s):  
Alicia Kubas
Keyword(s):  
Presidential Election ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Academic Librarians ◽  
The Political ◽  
Government Information ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Content Type ◽  
2016 Election ◽  
Democrats And Republicans ◽  
Depth Interviews

Purpose Since the 2016 presidential election, hyper-partisanship has become a regular facet of the political landscape with Democrats and Republicans in increasing conflict. The purpose of this paper is to determine if perception of government sources related to trust and credibility has changed since the 2016 election and if the experiences and strategies of librarians who teach or consult about government information has changed in response to this environment. Design/methodology/approach A 24-question survey was distributed to garner qualitative and quantitative responses from librarians who teach or consult about government information in an academic environment. A total of 122 responses were used for analysis. Findings Academic librarians are seeing more concern from patrons about disappearing online government information and wider distrust of government information. Librarians also noticed that the political leanings of students color their perspective around government sources and that librarians also need to keep their political beliefs in check. Respondents emphasized a need for more government literacy and information literacy topics when discussing evaluation of government sources. Research limitations/implications The data collection only included responses from academic librarians. Further research could include in-depth interviews and look at experiences in various library types. Originality/value With the timeliness of this topic, there has not been an in-depth investigation into how the Trump administration has changed user trust and perception of government sources from the librarian’s point of view. This paper continues the conversation about how librarians can address the growing distrust of government information and give us insight into the effects of a turbulent political climate on government sources.

Health inequalities: still making policy in a fog?

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (4) ◽  
pp. 427-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
MARTIN POWELL
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Policy Making ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Policy Perspective ◽  
What Works ◽  
Health Action ◽  
Policy Analysts ◽  
Unrealistic Expectations

What Works in Tackling Health Inequalities? Pathways, Policies and Practice through the Lifecourse S. Asthana and J. Halliday Bristol: Policy, Press, 2006Health Action Zones: Partnerships for Health Equity M. Barnes, L. Bauld, M. Benzeval, K. Judge, M. Mackenzie, H. Sullivan Abingdon: Routledge, 2005Health Inequality: An Introduction to Theories, Concepts and Methods M. Bartley Cambridge: Polity, 2004Status Syndrome: How your Social Standing Directly Affects your Health and Life Expectancy M. Marmot London: Bloomsbury, 2004These four texts on health inequalities are all very different books written by leading commentators with different academic backgrounds. This review will concentrate on the policy perspective that may be of most interest to many readers of this journal. It is also arguably the Achilles heel of the health inequalities literature. According to policy makers, much current research on health inequalities was of little use to policy making, and public health researchers have been criticized for political naivety, for lacking understanding of how policy is made, and for having unrealistic expectations (Petticrew et al., 2004: 815–816). Similarly, Klein (2003) points to the problems of ‘making policy in a fog’. The first two texts under review focus on policy and are written by policy analysts.

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