2020 Census Raises Concerns over Paperless Survey; AAFP Co-sponsors Resolution to Support Funding for Accurate Data

AAFP

Participation in the U.S. government’s once-a-decade headcount requires no preregistration and doesn’t test one’s knowledge of issues or candidates. Despite the seeming simplicity of the census, though, the country’s collective well-being hinges on it. To properly allocate some $675 billion in annual federal funding to states and communities — resources devoted to health care, education and housing, among other programs — the government depends on every census respondent to provide complete and honest answers to the survey’s basic questions.

Yet a potential hurdle exists in the 2020 census that the U.S. Census Bureau itself acknowledges: For the first time, the bureau plans to gather most of its responses online rather than on paper. That prospect has sparked concern regarding the accuracy of data quality and the representation of vulnerable communities.

With these factors in mind, the AAFP conceived and introduced a resolution(www.ama-assn.org) titled “Maintaining Validity and Comprehensiveness of U.S. Census Data” during the annual meeting of the AMA House of Delegates(www.ama-assn.org) in Chicago this month. The resolution resolved portion of the resolution 221 states, “RESOLVED, That our American Medical Association support adequate funding for the U.S. Census to assure accurate and relevant data is collected and disseminated. (New HOD Policy).”

Read the entire AAFP News article.