Framing and Policymaker Evaluations of the Opioid Crisis

Several extremely influential theories, including the multiple streams approach and punctuated equilibrium theory, predict that dramatic policy change occurs when problems are reframed. However, there is little direct evidence of how framing messages influence policymaker attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors. In an online survey of local policymakers in Illinois, we find that different media frames of the opiate epidemic influence policymaker attitudes and attributions of responsibility. We conclude with some implications for framing theory and its role in theories of policymaking.