2021 Virginia Election Survey: Likely Voters Support Improving Nursing Home Care

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Summary of Key Findings

The coronavirus pandemic exposed problems in our nation’s long-term care system that have brought forth a number of policy proposals aimed at improving the quality of care nursing home residents receive.

More than 7-in-10 (71%) of all voters support the establishment of minimum hourly staffing thresholds, with support consistent across genders, age groups, and regions. This proposal is supported by almost 8-in-10 (78%) moderate voters and nearly two-thirds (62%) of conservative voters.

More than three-quarters (77%) of all voters support providing a living wage to paid caregivers in nursing homes, with support nearly identical among age groups and voters in urban, suburban, and rural communities. Clear majorities of moderate voters (81%) and conservative voters (60%) support this proposal.

The questions reported here are part of a survey of 800 Virginia Registered Likely Voters Age 18+ conducted by Wason Center for Civic Leadership at Christopher Newport University on behalf of AARP, August 15-23, 2021. The full research report will explore how voters across the state feel about – and expect candidates to address – key health and financial security challenges that impact Virginians of all ages.

Margin of error +/-3.6%.

Nursing Home Quality Questions

1. The coronavirus pandemic exposed problems in our nation’s long-term care system that have brought forth a number of policy proposals. Please indicate whether you support or oppose each of the following proposals aimed at improving the quality of care nursing home residents receive. If you are unsure, please say that.

A. Establishing competency-based training requirements for those hired to work in home and community-based settings, with some exceptions for family caregivers.

• 
  
  

  	Total (%)	18-49 (%)	50-64 (%)	65+ (%)
  N	801	283	218	300
  Support	74	68	78	78
  Oppose	6	7	4	5
  Unsure	20	24	17	15
  Don’t Know	1	1	1	2

  
  
  
  
  

  	Total (%)	White (%)	Black (%)	Other (%)	Hispanic (%)
  n	800	552	160	88	38
  Support	74	76	76	64	79
  Oppose	6	5	1	16	11
  Unsure	20	18	23	19	11
  Don’t Know	1	1	1	1	0

B. Establishing minimum hourly staffing thresholds in nursing homes for RNs, LPNs, and CNAs.

C.        Providing a living wage to paid caregivers who work in nursing homes caring for residents in order to help reduce staff turnover. A living wage allows employees to earn enough to afford adequate shelter, food, and other basic necessities.

D. Requiring providers to supply training in infection prevention and control for all direct-care workers in residential care settings and home care agencies.

E. Requiring employers to provide direct-care workers a reasonable amount of paid sick leave.

Demographics

EDUC: Could you tell me the highest level of school or college you had the opportunity to complete:

           

High school or less                      15

Vo-Tech                                       6

Some college                              28

College or more                           49

HISPANIC: Do you consider yourself to be Hispanic or Latino?   

Yes                                            4                                               

No                                            94                                

Dk/ref (vol)                                  2                      

RACE: Do you consider yourself to be:  

White                                        69                         

Black or African American          20       

Other                                        11        

RELIG: What is your religious preference, are you Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, another religion, or no religion?

Protestant                                 41                                

Christian (non-specific)              12        

Catholic                                    13        

Jewish                                        1          

Other                                          6        

None                                        21        

Dk/ref (vol)                                  5           

IDEOL: When it comes to your ideology, would you consider yourself to be…

Very conservative                        9

Conservative                             17

Moderate                                  33

Liberal                                      25

Very liberal                                11

Dk/ref(vol)                                  5

PARTY: In politics today, do you generally consider yourself to be a Republican, a Democrat, or an Independent?

Republican                                28        

Democrat                                  37

Independent                              32

No Preference/party (vol)4  

Dk/Ref (vol)                                3

PARTYLN

Lean Republican                       39                    

Lean Democrat                         34        

Independent                              17

Dk/ref (vol)                                10

AGE: (Recorded as exact year of birth)

18-24                                          4          

25-34                                          8        

35-44                                        18        

45-54                                        14        

55 & older                                 56        

INCOME: And, just for statistical purposes, in which of the following categories does your family income fall?

Under $25,000                            5        

$25-$49,999                              16

$50-$74,999                              16

$75-$99,999                              17

$100,000-$149,999                    17

Over $150,000                           17

Dk/ref (vol)                                12

CELL/LANDLINE

Cell                                           35        

Landline                                    65

SEX:

Male                                         49

Female                                     51

REGION

Northern Virginia                       32

Richmond-Central                      24

Hampton Roads-East                24

South/Southwest/West              21


Methodology

The results of this poll are based on 800 interviews of registered Virginia voters who are likely general election voters, including 277 on landline and 523 on cell phone, conducted August 15-23, 2021. A likely general election voter is one who has voted in at least two of the last four general elections or is newly registered in the last 12 months and indicates they are enthusiastic and plan to vote in the upcoming November 2 election. The margin of error for the whole survey is +/-3.6% at the 95% level of confidence. This means that if 50% of respondents indicate a topline view on an issue, we can be 95% confident that the population’s view on that issue is somewhere between 46.4% and 53.6%. The margin of error for subgroups may be higher. All error margins have been adjusted to account for the survey’s design effect, which is 1.1 in this survey. The design effect is a factor representing the survey’s deviation from a simple random sample and takes into account decreases in precision due to sample design and weighting procedures. In addition to sampling error, the other potential sources of error include non-response, question wording, and interviewer error. Percentages may not equal 100 due to rounding. The response rate (AAPOR RRI Standard Definition) for the survey was 12%. Five callbacks were employed in the fielding process. Live calling was conducted by Dynata. The data reported here are weighted using an iterative weighting process on region, age, race, sex, and education to reflect as closely as possible the population of Virginia’s November 2, 2021 electorate.

For more information, contact Kate Bridges at kbridges@aarp.org

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