Kansans' perceptions of health care reform: a qualitative study on coming to public judgment

The purpose of this study was to analyze the discussion of participants from three Kansas town meetings on health care reform. Yankelovich's process of "coming to public judgment" was used to guide the research. In this study participants were in the process of the first two stages of public judgment: consciousness-raising and working through. Health care reform was described in six themes: access, bureaucracy, distribution, expectations, futility, and prevention. Health care needs and reform were described within the context of personal meaning for those attending the town meetings.