Americans are far more concerned about the costs of healthcare, drug abuse and uneven access to treatment than other countries, though they are less worried about waiting times and staff shortages, according to a new survey by Ipsos, as health systems around the world are stretched to their limits with the Covid-19 pandemic and rising concerns over issues like mental health.
More Americans—68%—viewed Covid-19 as the country’s top public health concern, according to Ipsos’s Global Health Service Monitor, slightly lower than the global average of 70%, according to the Ipsos survey of some 21,500 adults in 30 countries between August 20 and September 3.
Americans were more concerned about mental health (35%) and drug abuse (20%) than other countries—which respectively averaged 31% and 13% ranking these as one of their country’s biggest problems.
Americans were less likely than other countries surveyed to cite cancer (22% vs 34%), stress (14% vs 22%), diabetes (8% vs 13%) and smoking (4% vs 9%) as top health concerns.
