Research on stasis or change in public opinion toward health, health policy, and medical care tends to focus on short-term dynamics and to emphasize the impact of discrete messages communicated by individual speakers in particular situations. This focus on what we term “situational framing,” though valuable in some respects, is poorly equipped to assess changes that may occur over the longer term. We focus, instead, on “structural framing” to understand how institutionalized public health and health care policies impact public opinion and behavior over time. Understanding the dynamics of public opinion over time is especially helpful in tracking the political effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 as it moves from the debate over its passage to its implementation and operation.
Article navigation
1 December 2011
Issue Editors
Article Contents
Research Article|December 01 2011
Why Public Opinion Changes: The Implications for Health and Health Policy
J Health Polit Policy Law (2011) 36 (6): 917-933.
- Views Icon Views
-
CiteCitation
Lawrence R. Jacobs, Suzanne Mettler; Why Public Opinion Changes: The Implications for Health and Health Policy. J Health Polit Policy Law 1 December 2011; 36 (6): 917–933. doi: https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-1460515
Download citation file:
× - Share Icon Share
- Search
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Advertisement