Typologies
The American Health Values Survey captures insights into Americans’ values and beliefs about building a healthier and more equitable nation. There are also measures of what respondents believe about social determinants of health, the role of government in addressing them, and what they value most for their own communities.
The Perspectives on Families in America Survey explores the views of U.S. adults towards families with young children and their needs. It identifies differences in views about the deservingness of families with low-income, the importance of systemic-level causes for the lack of social resources, and the role of government.
How the Two Typologies Differ
The American Health Values Survey typology was first developed in 2015. This typology is based on values and beliefs central to the ideas advanced in the RWJF Culture of Health (CoH) Action Framework, especially those related to making health a shared national priority, one valued by multiple stakeholders from across all sectors of society. As a result, it focuses on views about the importance of the social determinants of health, the value given to social equity and solidarity, beliefs about the existence of health care disparities, government involvement in health and civic engagement on health issues.
The Perspectives on Families in America (PFA) typology, developed in 2019, is somewhat narrower in focus. It is based on values and beliefs related to the promotion of children’s and family health specifically, especially the need for resources such as adequate incomes and access to healthy foods, childcare, and pre-school. The idea was to use a typology to understand values and beliefs related to solving these resource problems, including differing views about the deservingness of low-income families, the importance of systems-level causes and the proper role for government to play in addressing them.