de Beaumont Foundation Poll Finds Increased Voter Support for LHDs

According to a new national poll conducted for the de Beaumont Foundation, awareness and recognition of local health departments (LHDs) has risen significantly since the last election season, suggesting public health is a key issue for voters in the 2020 election. In the poll, conducted in July 2020, 73 percent of voters said public health departments play an important role in keeping people healthy, up from 56 percent in 2018. Further, after hearing a list of the types of services provided by health departments, six in 10 voters indicated they would be willing to pay more in state and local taxes to increase funding for LHDs.

The increased recognition for public health departments cuts across age, gender, race, political party, education, and income. Voters additionally indicated higher levels of support for public health emergency preparedness and response, and the most valued public health services among voters included controlling communicable diseases, supporting women and children’s health, reaching out to people that are at greatest risk of poor health outcomes, ensuring environmental health, and providing critical, unbiased information on how to respond and what to do in a crisis to protect yourself and those close to you. Additional information on the poll and its results is available here