While Few Have Seen 'Sicko,' Nearly Half Of Public Is Familiar With It; Film Spurs Conversation About Health Care Issues, Reform, Poll Finds

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Also Included In: Public Health
Article Date: 30 Aug 2007 - 16:00 PDT

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Only 4% of U.S. adults have viewed "Sicko," a recently released documentary on the health care industry directed by filmmaker Michael Moore, but 46% have "seen the movie or heard or read something about it" because of a "free media bounce reaching beyond the movie reviews to the news and talk shows," according to a poll released on Monday by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Hartford Courant reports (Levick, Hartford Courant, 8/28). The poll, conducted as part of the Kaiser Health Tracking Survey: Election 2008 from Aug. 2 to Aug. 8, includes responses from a nationally representative sample of 1,500 adults (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/27).

According to the poll, among adults familiar with "Sicko":

• 45% said that they have discussed the U.S. health care system with friends, co-workers or family as a result of the film;
  
  
• 43% said that they were more likely to believe there is a need to reform the health care system as a result of the film;
  
  
• 37% said that they were more likely to believe other nations have a better approach to health care systems than the U.S. as a result of the film;
  
  
• 27% said that they are paying more attention to the health care positions of presidential candidates as a result of the film;
  
  
• 36% said that they believe the film accurately represented problems with the health care system (Hartford Courant, 8/28) and 33% said that they believe the film overstated problems with the health care system; and
  
  
• 48% said that they have a positive impression of the film, compared with 33% who said that they have a negative impression.
  

According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, "Sicko" has "been much more likely to resonate with those already inclined to support its point of view." About 43% of self-identified liberals familiar with "Sicko" said that they have a positive impression of the film, compared with 9% of self-identified conservatives, the poll found. In addition, while 56% of self-identified liberals familiar with "Sicko" said that they were more likely to believe in a need for reform of the health care system as a result of the film, "a smaller but still substantial share" of conservatives (29%) also said so, according to the poll.

Additional Results
The poll also found that "Sicko" has not changed the fundamental factors that form public opinion on health care. According to the poll, 2% of adults cited the film as the most important factor in their opinions on health care, compared with 62% who cited personal experiences and 9% who cited the proposals of presidential candidates.

Kaiser Family Foundation President and CEO Drew Altman said, "Our poll shows how the combination of good timing, a controversial director and lots of free media attention can generate real impact for a film that very few people have actually seen." He added, "Sicko is not a commercial juggernaut like Transformers or Harry Potter, and we're not likely to find Michael Moore action figures at fast food restaurants any time soon. But we are starting to see how films about social issues that capitalize on free media rather than traditional marketing can become social phenomena too" (Kaiser Family Foundation release, 8/27).

The results of the poll are available online.

Reprinted with kind permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation© 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

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