A nationwide poll of Generation Z Americans conducted by the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Health Justice found that the majority of people, despite political affiliation, agree that healthcare is a basic human right.
Ninety-three percent of Democratic Gen Z poll participants, 76 percent of Republicans, and 86 percent of Independents agreed on healthcare as a basic human right. On top of that, 68 percent of Republicans responded that they feel it is the federal government's job to ensure healthcare access for all citizens, according to the results published Sept. 6 in the American Journal of Public Health.
As members from this generation continue to age into adulthood, engaging in the workforce, voting and making decisions at a larger scale, their attitudes toward healthcare issues could reshape parts of public health and medical care, the authors of the study suggest.
"Our people and government make choices that perpetuate the racial, social, and economic injustices that create them," the authors wrote. "If we take our cues from Gen Z and focus our efforts on their common ground, perhaps the rising generation will make better, healthier choices for all our communities."