Priming COVID-19's consequences can increase support for investments in public health.

ABSTRACT: Can messaging that emphasizes the costs of COVID-19 increase popular support for more proactive public health policies? People who experience disasters often become more supportive of policies to address their underlying causes, and the pandemic may have similar spillover effects for public opinion. To test this idea, the study implements a survey experiment in Italy, Germany, and the United States in which half of the respondents were randomly assigned to a prime about the impact of the pandemic prior to answering questions about their support for public health policies. The results show that respondents who received the prime became more favorable toward increased government spending on domestic and foreign public health programs alike. These treatment effects were consistent across coun

SUBMITTER: Singh R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10019036 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature