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https://theconversation.com/in-the-us-political-division-can-take-a-significant-toll-on-peoples-health-australia-should-pay-attention-242381>
"Stark health disparities exist across the United States. Life expectancy is
lower than in other wealthy countries – and declining. The richest American men
live 15 years longer than their poorest counterparts. The richest American
women live ten years longer.
Political differences are an interesting and provocative way of looking at
these disparities.
Differences are frequently analysed by race, a proxy for other factors that
influence health, such as housing, environmental pollution, nutrition and
affordable access to health care.
But there are other ways to cut the data. This includes by state – whether it
is “red” (governed by the Republican party) or “blue” (by the Democrats). We
can also look at individual political affiliation.
One new study from the US looks at political polarisation as a risk factor for
individual and collective wellbeing. It finds polarisation – where opinions and
beliefs become concentrated at opposing extremes – has a major impact on
health.
The paper explores the health risks of polarisation using the COVID pandemic as
a case study. COVID saw Americans die at far higher rates than people in other
wealthy nations.
Australia escaped the high death toll. But there are still significant lessons
we can learn – about how increasing polarisation affects our health and
wellbeing, and for the effective management of pandemics and other health
crises."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
