The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures
Objectives: There are numerous population health challenges confronting the United States (U.S.), including the unhealthy lifestyle – chronic disease pandemics. However, the impact of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and the increased prevalence of chronic diseases that result from them affect many fac...
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Elsevier
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Public Health in Practice |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000715 |
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| author | Ross Arena Nicolaas P. Pronk Thomas E. Kottke Anthony Arena Colin Woodard |
| author_facet | Ross Arena Nicolaas P. Pronk Thomas E. Kottke Anthony Arena Colin Woodard |
| author_sort | Ross Arena |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives: There are numerous population health challenges confronting the United States (U.S.), including the unhealthy lifestyle – chronic disease pandemics. However, the impact of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and the increased prevalence of chronic diseases that result from them affect many facets of life outside of the health domain, and their scope remains under-appreciated. The current analysis contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by comparing the newly developed Lifestyle Health Index (LHI) to U.S. county-level voter turnout rates in the 2020 presidential election. Study design: Descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective analysis. Methods: County-level data on the LHI, percent voter turnout, and the American Nations regional cultures model schematic was used in the current analysis. Results: Pearson correlations between county-level LHI scores and sub scores and Democratic, Republican, and overall voter turnout were all statistically significant and of similar strength (r > 0.63, p < 0.001). All counties in the worst performing LHI quartile had a voter turnout <60 %. Higher LHIs were consistently assocaited with lower voter turnout across the regional cultures, although heterogeneity was evident across the American Nations. Conclusions: A large percentage of the U.S. population is afflicted with poor health, and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are a primary driver. Poor health does not occur in a vacuum and impacts many other facets of an individual's life. The current study further demonstrates the potential detrimental impact of poor health on civic engagement, specifically participation in the electoral process (i.e, citizens' health may influence voter turnout). Health care professionals and institutions in the U.S. should uniformly embrace the recent policy brief by the American College of Physicians on participation in the electoral process for patients receiving care. This paradigm shift has the potential to substantially improve voter turnout during U.S. elections. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d79730be4dc34f74bc7d0f5724408f77 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2666-5352 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Public Health in Practice |
| spelling | doaj-art-d79730be4dc34f74bc7d0f5724408f772025-08-20T02:50:19ZengElsevierPublic Health in Practice2666-53522024-12-01810053410.1016/j.puhip.2024.100534The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional culturesRoss Arena0Nicolaas P. Pronk1Thomas E. Kottke2Anthony Arena3Colin Woodard4Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Science, University of Illinois, Chicago, IL, USA; Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL – PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA; Corresponding author. Department of Physical Therapy, College of Applied Health Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, 1919 W. Taylor Street (MC 898), Chicago, IL 60612, USA.Healthy Living for Pandemic Event Protection (HL – PIVOT) Network, Chicago, IL, USA; HealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Health Policy and Management, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USAHealthPartners Institute, Minneapolis, MN, USAWalter Payton High School, Chicago, IL, USANationhood Lab, Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, USAObjectives: There are numerous population health challenges confronting the United States (U.S.), including the unhealthy lifestyle – chronic disease pandemics. However, the impact of unhealthy lifestyle behaviors and the increased prevalence of chronic diseases that result from them affect many facets of life outside of the health domain, and their scope remains under-appreciated. The current analysis contributes to addressing this knowledge gap by comparing the newly developed Lifestyle Health Index (LHI) to U.S. county-level voter turnout rates in the 2020 presidential election. Study design: Descriptive, cross-sectional, retrospective analysis. Methods: County-level data on the LHI, percent voter turnout, and the American Nations regional cultures model schematic was used in the current analysis. Results: Pearson correlations between county-level LHI scores and sub scores and Democratic, Republican, and overall voter turnout were all statistically significant and of similar strength (r > 0.63, p < 0.001). All counties in the worst performing LHI quartile had a voter turnout <60 %. Higher LHIs were consistently assocaited with lower voter turnout across the regional cultures, although heterogeneity was evident across the American Nations. Conclusions: A large percentage of the U.S. population is afflicted with poor health, and unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are a primary driver. Poor health does not occur in a vacuum and impacts many other facets of an individual's life. The current study further demonstrates the potential detrimental impact of poor health on civic engagement, specifically participation in the electoral process (i.e, citizens' health may influence voter turnout). Health care professionals and institutions in the U.S. should uniformly embrace the recent policy brief by the American College of Physicians on participation in the electoral process for patients receiving care. This paradigm shift has the potential to substantially improve voter turnout during U.S. elections.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000715Unhealthy lifestyle behaviorsChronic diseaseSocial vulnerabilityPublic health |
| spellingShingle | Ross Arena Nicolaas P. Pronk Thomas E. Kottke Anthony Arena Colin Woodard The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures Public Health in Practice Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors Chronic disease Social vulnerability Public health |
| title | The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures |
| title_full | The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures |
| title_fullStr | The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures |
| title_full_unstemmed | The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures |
| title_short | The relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 United States presidential election in the context of regional cultures |
| title_sort | relationship between the lifestyle health index and voter turnout during the 2020 united states presidential election in the context of regional cultures |
| topic | Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors Chronic disease Social vulnerability Public health |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666535224000715 |
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