Voting, health and interventions in healthcare settings: a scoping review

Abstract

Background: In democracies, voting is an important action through which citizens engage in the political process. Although elections are only one aspect of political engagement, voting sends a signal of support or dissent for policies that ultimately shape the social determinants of health. Social determinants subsequently influence who votes and who does not. Our objective is to examine the existing research on voting and health and on interventions to increase voter participation through healthcare organizations. Methods: We conducted a scoping review to examine the existing research on voting, health, and interventions to increase voter participation through healthcare organizations. We carried out a search of the indexed, peer-reviewed literature using Ovid MEDLINE (1946-present), PsychINFO (1806-present), Ebsco CINAHL, Embase (1947-present), Web of Science, ProQuest Sociological Abstracts, and Worldwide Political Science Abstracts. We limited our search to articles published in English. Titles and abstracts were reviewed, followed by a full-text review of eligible articles and data extraction. Articles were required to focus on the connection between voting and health, or report on interventions that occurred within healthcare organizations that aimed to improve voter engagement. Results: Our search identified 2041 citations, of which 40 articles met our inclusion criteria. Selected articles dated from 1991-2018 and were conducted primarily in Europe, the USA, and Canada. We identified four interrelated areas explored in the literature: (1) there is a consistency in the association between voting and health; (2) differences in voter participation are associated with health conditions; (3) gaps in voter participation may be associated with electoral outcomes; and (4) interventions in healthcare organizations can increase voter participation. Conclusion: Voting and health are associated, namely people with worse health tend to be less likely to engage in voting. Differences in voter participation due to social, economic, and health inequities have been shown to have large effects on electoral outcomes. Research gaps were identified in the following areas: long-term effects of voting on health, the effects of other forms of democratic engagement on health, and the broader impact that health providers and organizations can have on voting through interventions in their communities.

Emergency Absentee Voting for Hospitalized Patients and Voting During COVID-19: A 50-State Study

“…4,23 An under-representation of these voters may impact policy decisions pertaining to medical care and population health, and some studies have accordingly called for healthcare workers to address barriers to voting faced by patients. 2,7,8,[24][25][26][27] Importantly, several studies have indicated that enfranchising marginalized populations is associated with improved health outcomes, due to these voters disproportionately supporting policies focused on equity, including healthcare and education. 1,23,28 There are several ways that healthcare workers and institutions may act on this study's findings.…”

“…Earlier research indicates that Americans with significant health conditions or belonging to marginalized populations are disproportionately under-represented in terms of voter turnout. [1][2][3][4][5][6] Healthcare institutions have the potential to improve democratic participation, 2,7,8 and one method to achieve this is emergency absentee voting. The emergency absentee voting process allows voters to obtain and submit an absentee ballot if they experience a medical emergency or are hospitalized after their state's regular absentee deadline, which usually falls days or weeks before election day.…”

On the Women Social Rights Legislative Regulation in the Kyrgyz Republic

“…So in practice, without registration they are not accepted in hospitals and polyclinics, it is difficult to identify a child in school, difficulties arise when applying for a job. In some cases, political and civil rights may also be affected such as rights to marriage, the right to inviolability in family life, the right to access justice, the right to participate in elections (Brown et al, 2020).…”

Viewing the US presidential electoral map through the lens of public health

“…Regarding health and voter participation, a study of 30 European countries found that health does have an effect on turnout and that this effect is largest among the elderly [9]. Similarly, a review of 17 studies examining the relationship between voting and health across the US and Europe demonstrated lower voter participation was consistently related to poor self-rated health [10]. Given its relationship to turnout, many analysts have stressed the importance of studying the correlation between health and partisanship in political science research [11].…”