How Variations in the Public's Knowledge Affects Its Opinions of New Health Policies

Knowledge can sometimes influence public support for health-related policies and programs, while other times knowledge may have little impact.  I will present examples from several recent surveys to show that in some cases, such as the Affordable Care Act, knowledge is significantly related to support for public policy.  On the other hand, such as in the case of the obesity epidemic, knowledge has less impact on opinions about policy solutions.  I will use these examples to frame a broader discussion of the relationship between knowledge and public opinion about health policy.