Public identifies top child health priorities for presidential candidates

Implications

Candidates for President are faced with many options for the policy positions they include in their campaigns. Children’s health is a topic that a majority of American adults say can affect their votes in November. In addition, large proportions of U.S. adults perceive that the health of children today is worse than when they were kids, themselves. For these reasons, focusing on child health priorities may resonate deeply with voters in the Presidential campaign in 2016. The policy priority areas identified by at least one-half of U.S. adults in this Poll are very consistent with areas of concern about child health expressed by adults in past Polls. These priorities raise a key question: what can a President do about these concerns?

Child abuse and neglect is known to affect over half a million children in the U.S. every year. The negative effects of abuse/neglect on individuals’ health in childhood and well into adulthood are increasingly clear. The federal government shares responsibility for addressing child abuse and neglect with state and local agencies. Policy options for the federal government include expanding and intensifying programs that support parents and teach parenting skills during children’s early years (e.g., under age 3), including home visiting programs that begin during pregnancy.

Rates of underage alcohol use have been declining over recent years, although about one-fifth of high-school-age teens report alcohol use in the past month and binge drinking also remains a problem. Youth tobacco use has decreased to its lowest level in decades (about 10% of 12th-graders in the past 30 days), while electronic cigarette use is now more common than conventional cigarette smoking. Illicit drug use among youth has also decreased over recent years, except for marijuana use; nearly 40% of 12th-graders report any illicit drug use in the past year. The two main policy avenues for alcohol and tobacco are: (1) to raise use taxes, which are known to reduce underage use, and (2) to improve, innovate, and invest in novel messaging to help shape community norms to discourage underage use because of negative health effects. The Food and Drug Administration has also declared that it will regulate e-cigarettes as a tobacco product, which is consistent with public attitudes previously reported previously in this Poll. For drug use, the leading policy options are to intensify messaging in schools and communities to discourage experimentation among youth, and to invest in and improve enforcement of existing drug laws to reduce access. The federal government may also issue prescribing restrictions for physicians in order to limit access to prescription drugs that can be misused.

The interrelated challenges of nutrition, hunger, and obesity have been the focus of increasing policy attention over the past two decades. Together, hunger and obesity may affect as many as one-third of all youth in the U.S. The leading federal policy options are to promote access to, interest in, and affordability of healthier foods, especially for low-income children families, including at farmers’ markets. Encouraging physical activity and avoiding extended sedentary time is also essential for health, and ensuring that neighborhoods are safe is critical to promoting more active lifestyles for all generations.