Healthcare Resources
- 84% of residents primarily receive healthcare from doctor’s offices, community health centers, or primary care clinics.
- 73% seek medical care in their local communities, while 25% go to Boston.
- 71% believe the state should expand healthcare resources in local communities rather than centralizing in Boston.
Access to Healthcare
- 76% want more cancer care services in their communities; 78% want more mental health services.
- 2 in 5 residents (40%) say they or a family member have struggled with mental health in the past 30 days.
- 84% think the Department of Public Health should assess healthcare access before approving new medical facilities.
- 49% worry that new Boston medical facilities will pull staffing from local healthcare centers.
Cost of Healthcare
- 92% are concerned about healthcare costs.
- 81% believe local community care is important for keeping costs down.
- 64% blame pharmaceutical company profits for high prescription drug costs.
- 80% think the federal government should regulate drug prices more.
Vaccines & Information Sources
- 84% believe vaccines are beneficial, while 13% do not.
- 63% are concerned that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will limit access to vaccines.
- Most common news sources:
- News websites (53%)
- Television (52%)
- Newspapers (36%)
- Facebook (27%)
- Radio (24%)
- Instagram (18%), TikTok (14%), Twitter/X (13%)
- 20% get news from personal contacts (e.g., messaging apps)
Survey Methodology
The survey of Massachusetts residents was conducted by Emerson College Polling and commissioned by the Coalition for Strong Community Health. It has a sample size of n=1,000, with a credibility interval, similar to a poll’s margin of error of +/-3 percentage points. Data was collected February 17-19, 2025. The data sets were weighted by gender, education, race, age, and region by US Census parameters.
It is important to remember that subsets based on demographics, such as gender, age, education, and race/ethnicity, carry with them higher credibility intervals, as the sample size is reduced. Survey results should be understood within the poll’s range of scores, and with a confidence interval of 95% a poll will fall outside the range of scores 1 in 20 times.
Data was collected by contacting cell phones via MMS-to-web text (phone list provided by Aristotle), and an online panel of voters matched provided by CINT. Panel responses were matched to the Aristotle voter file using respondents’ full name and ZIP code. The survey was offered in English.
All questions asked in this survey with the exact wording, along with full results, demographics, and cross tabulations can be found HERE.
