Health and political efficacy in context: What is the role of the welfare state?

Shore, Jennifer; Rapp, Carolin; Stockemer, Daniel

doi:10.1177/0020715219899969

“…Equality in elections is considered to be one of the cornerstones of democracy, so special attention needs to be given to inclusive voting practices [28]. Hence, it is not a surprise that voting accessibility has been on the agenda in many countries.…”

Section: Implications For Policiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and Disability Gaps in Political Engagement: A Short Review

Mattila¹

2022

Wellbeing: Alternative Policy Perspectives

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This review presents a short overview of the current state of research in the field of health, disability, and political engagement. I focus on the individual-level relationship between health and political behaviour or political attitudes. Most of the existing studies have analysed the effects of health or disability on electoral turnout, and almost all of these studies have found a negative association between poor health, disability, and turnout. The relationships between health and other forms of political participation are more complex; poor health and disability can actually promote certain types of participation (e.g., signing petitions or participation in social media). However, studies of political attitudes show that poor health and disability are connected to lower levels of trust and external political efficacy and that this disengagement may even lead, for example, to increased support for right-wing populist parties. In general, political actors and researchers need to be encouraged to implement new, more inclusive solutions to bridge the health and disability gaps in political engagement.

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“…Political scientists' neglect of health as a determinant of civic engagement has been as notable as it has been regrettable. A nas cent body of research has begun to address this gap by exam ining how various health conditions may affect how people think about and actively participate in democratic politics (e.g., [18][19][20][21][22][23]). The most frequent starting point for these studies is a 'health gap hypothesis' , which assumes that there is a positive relationship between a person's health and the quantity of their political involvement [5,6,24].…”

Section: Understanding Health and Political Behaviour In Democraciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health, Wellbeing, and Democratic Citizenship: A Review and Research Agenda

Anderson¹,

Hagemann²,

Klemmensen³

2022

Wellbeing: Alternative Policy Perspectives

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Social scientists have examined the causes and consequences of people’s engagement with politics for many decades, yet we have only just begun to understand the roles that health and wellbeing play in people’s involvement as members of the body politic. Findings from a nascent body of research suggest that health predicts people’s decision to turn out to vote and whether they feel they can have a say in political decisions more broadly, but we still lack a systematic understanding of the variable, as well as specific, ways in which health and feelings of wellbeing shape people’s interactions with political life. We also know little about how – and if – these patterns vary across groups in society, regions, countries, or over time. In this contribution, we present a framework for analysing the ways in which specific health conditions may shape the connection between citizens’ wellbeing and their interactions with politics and how research should endeavour to trace the consequences of these links for people’s lives as citizens and their full participation in the democratic political process.

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“…In one study, data collected from Finland showed that poor health was associated with lower levels of external efficacy but was unrelated to internal efficacy [18]. However, a later European-wide study suggested that in addition to external efficacy, low internal political efficacy is also related to people's poor health status [19]. Disability is also linked with lower levels of both types of efficacy, although the gap in internal efficacy disappears after controlling for education and certain other socioeconomic factors [20].…”

Section: Health and Disability Gaps In Politicsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health and Disability Gaps in Political Engagement: A Short Review

Mattila

¹

2021

LSE Public Policy Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This review presents a short overview of the current state of research in the field of health, disability, and political engagement. I focus on the individual-level relationship between health and political behaviour or political attitudes. Most of the existing studies have analysed the effects of health or disability on electoral turnout, and almost all of these studies have found a negative association between poor health, disability, and turnout. The relationships between health and other forms of political participation are more complex; poor health and disability can actually promote certain types of participation (e.g., signing petitions or participation in social media). However, studies of political attitudes show that poor health and disability are connected to lower levels of trust and external political efficacy and that this disengagement may even lead, for example, to increased support for right-wing populist parties. In general, political actors and researchers need to be encouraged to implement new, more inclusive solutions to bridge the health and disability gaps in political engagement.

show abstract

Health and political efficacy in context: What is the role of the welfare state?

Cited by 11 publications

References 96 publications

Health and Disability Gaps in Political Engagement: A Short Review

Health and Disability Gaps in Political Engagement: A Short Review

Health, Wellbeing, and Democratic Citizenship: A Review and Research Agenda

Health and Disability Gaps in Political Engagement: A Short Review

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