What does the public know and think about Zika? - September 2016

1. What does the public know and
think about Zika?
Poll findings from 2016 Kaiser Family Foundation’s Health Tracking Polls
and 2016 Survey of Americans on the U.S. Role in Global Health

2. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation 2016 Survey of Americans on the U.S. Role in Global Health (conducted March 1-26, 2016)
and Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Polls
The Zika virus outbreak has remained high on
the public’s radar since February 2016
61%
92%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Feb 2016 Mar 2016 Apr 2016 Jun 2016 Jul 2016 Aug 2016 Sept 2016
Percent who followed news about the Zika virus outbreak closely
Percent who have heard or read at least a little about the Zika virus

3. NOTE: Refused responses not shown.
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted June 15-21, 2016)
A majority of Americans know about Zika
cases in the U.S.
To the best of your knowledge, have there been any cases of the Zika virus diagnosed in the United States, or not?
Yes (correct
answer)
66%
No
9%
Haven't
heard or read
about
Zika/Don't
know
25%

4. 88% of Americans know Zika can
be spread through the bite of a
mosquito.
59% know a person can become
infected with Zika through sex with
an infected person.
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted August 18-24, 2016)

5. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll
(conducted June 15-21, 2016)
Most Americans know about Zika’s connection to
birth defects
To the best of your knowledge, is the Zika virus associated
with birth defects in babies born to infected mothers, is it
not associated with birth defects, or have you not heard
enough to say?
Yes
(correct
answer)
59%
Haven't
heard
enough to
say/
Haven't
heard or
read about
Zika
40%
No
1%
According to the Centers for Disease
Control, the Zika virus has been linked
to birth defects like microcephaly.
Microcephaly is a birth defect in which
a baby’s head is smaller than expected
compared to other babies. Children
with microcephaly often have
developmental issues.

6. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll
(conducted June 15-21, 2016)
Few Americans know about the link between Zika
and adult paralysis
Yes
(correct
answer)
13%
Haven't heard enough
to say/Haven't heard or
read about Zika
82%
No
5%
To the best of your knowledge, is the Zika virus
associated with muscle weakening and paralysis in
adults, is it not associated with muscle weakening and
paralysis in adults, or have you not heard enough to
say?
According to the Centers for Disease
Control, the Zika virus has been
linked to Guillain-Barré syndrome in
adults.
Guillain-Barré syndrome is an
uncommon sickness of the nervous
system in which a person’s immune
system damages the nerve cells,
causing muscle weakness and,
sometimes, paralysis.

7. Very few Americans –2%–
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted September 14-20, 2016)
know someone whose health has been
affected by the Zika virus

8. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted July 5-11, 2016)
Percent of the public
who are worried…
53%
34%
…the U.S. will see a large
number of cases of the Zika
virus in the next 12 months
…they or someone in their
family will be affected by the
Zika virus

9. 69%
62%
61%
61%
50%
44%
44%
42%
40%
39%
35%
27%
Improving access to clean water
Combating global outbreaks of diseases like Ebola and Zika
Children's health, including vaccinations
Reducing hunger and malnutrition
Preventing and treating HIV/AIDS
Preventing and treating malaria
Building and improving hospitals, health care facilities
Reducing the number of women who die in childbirth
Preventing and treating tuberculosis
Eradicating polio
Improving access to family planning, reproductive health
Preventing and treating heart disease, other chronic diseases
NOTE: Question wording abbreviated.
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation 2016 Survey of Americans on the U.S. Role in Global Health (conducted March 1-26, 2016)
Combating diseases like the Zika virus is seen as a
top global health priority
Percent of the public who say each should be a top priority for U.S. efforts to improve health in developing countries:

10. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted August 18-24, 2016)
Do you think the U.S.
government is doing enough or
not doing enough to fight the
Zika virus outbreak in the
United States?
Doing
enough to
fight the Zika
virus
outbreak in
the U.S.
40%
NOT doing
enough
41%
Have not heard or
read about Zika
9%
Other/Don't know/Refused
10%
Four in ten Americans say the U.S.
government is doing enough to fight the Zika
virus outbreak in the United States; an equal
share say it’s not

11. 14%
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted July 5-11, 2016)
Few Americans see Zika as a personal threat,
but most see it as a threat to pregnant women
Percent who say the Zika virus poses a major threat to…
62%
…pregnant women
…you, personally

12. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted August 18-24, 2016)
of the public is not
comfortable traveling to
places in the U.S., like parts
of Florida, where people
have been infected with
Zika by mosquitoes
48%

13. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation 2016 Survey of Americans on the U.S. Role in Global Health (conducted March 1-26, 2016)
A majority of the American public thinks
women in developing countries do not have
adequate access to birth control
Do you think most women in
developing countries affected by the
Zika virus have adequate access to
birth control, or not?
Yes, have
adequate
access
13%
No, do not have
adequate access
52%
Haven't heard or read
about Zika virus/Don't
know/Refused
36%

14. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted July 5-11, 2016)
More women worry about the Zika virus than
men
46%
59%
31%
38%
Men
Women
Men
Women
…the U.S. will see a large number of cases of the Zika virus in the next 12 months
…they or someone in their family will be affected by the Zika virus
Percent of the public who are worried…

15. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted September 14-20, 2016)
Percent of Americans who say they have done
each of the following to protect themselves
from getting Zika:
Used mosquito
repellent
Removed
standing water
around their
home
Avoided
activities or
places where
there are
mosquitoes
Worn long
sleeves or
pants to
protect against
mosquito bites
Used condoms
during sex
50% 46% 37% 33% 24%

16. 9%
14%
13%
24%
39%
44%
37%
57%
12%
6%
7%
18%
A larger share of individuals in the South report taking measures
to reduce the number of mosquitoes around their homes
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted September 14-20, 2016)
Percent who say that to protect themselves from getting Zika, they have personally…
…had a pest control company
spray insecticide on their
property outside their home
South
Midwest
Northeast
West
…removed standing
water from around
their home
…had a pest control company
spray insecticide on their
property in their home

17. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted June 15-21, 2016)
79%of the public say it is important for
government funding for Zika to
include money for killing
mosquitoes

18. 73%
72%
61%
57%
…invest more money in research on the Zika
virus (June)
…invest more money to prevent the spread
of Zika in the U.S. (June)
…help women in countries with Zika virus
outbreaks access birth control (March)
…provide financial aid to countries with Zika
virus outbreaks (March)
NOTE: Question wording abbreviated.
SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation 2016 Survey of Americans on the U.S. Role in Global Health (conducted March 1-26, 2016) and Kaiser Family
Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted June 15-21, 2016)
Majorities support various actions to combat
Zika at home and abroad
Percent of Americans who say that to help fight the Zika virus, the U.S. should…

19. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted July 15-21, 2016)
45%trust the Democratic
Party
Which party do voters trust to do a
better job funding efforts to limit the
effects of Zika?
31%trust the Republican
Party

20. SOURCE: Kaiser Family Foundation Health Tracking Poll (conducted August 18-24, 2016)
54%trust Hillary Clinton
Which candidate do voters trust to
do a better job dealing with the Zika
virus outbreak?
34%trust Donald Trump

21. Filling the need for trusted information on
national health issues, the Kaiser Family
Foundation is a nonprofit organization based in
Menlo Park, California.
For more information, please visit www.kff.org
Contacts:
Rakesh Singh | (650) 854-9400 | rsingh@kff.org
Craig Palosky | (202) 347-5270 | cpalosky@kff.org