Trust in Physicians and Hospitals During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a 50-State Survey of US Adults.
JAMA Netw Open
; 7(7): e2424984, 2024 Jul 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39083270
ABSTRACT
Importance Trust in physicians and hospitals has been associated with achieving public health goals, but the increasing politicization of public health policies during the COVID-19 pandemic may have adversely affected such trust. Objective:
To characterize changes in US adults' trust in physicians and hospitals over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the association between this trust and health-related behaviors. Design, Setting, andParticipants:
This survey study uses data from 24 waves of a nonprobability internet survey conducted between April 1, 2020, and January 31, 2024, among 443â¯455 unique respondents aged 18 years or older residing in the US, with state-level representative quotas for race and ethnicity, age, and gender. Main Outcome andMeasure:
Self-report of trust in physicians and hospitals; self-report of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza vaccination and booster status. Survey-weighted regression models were applied to examine associations between sociodemographic features and trust and between trust and health behaviors.Results:
The combined data included 582â¯634 responses across 24 survey waves, reflecting 443â¯455 unique respondents. The unweighted mean (SD) age was 43.3 (16.6) years; 288â¯186 respondents (65.0%) reported female gender; 21â¯957 (5.0%) identified as Asian American, 49â¯428 (11.1%) as Black, 38â¯423 (8.7%) as Hispanic, 3138 (0.7%) as Native American, 5598 (1.3%) as Pacific Islander, 315â¯278 (71.1%) as White, and 9633 (2.2%) as other race and ethnicity (those who selected "Other" from a checklist). Overall, the proportion of adults reporting a lot of trust for physicians and hospitals decreased from 71.5% (95% CI, 70.7%-72.2%) in April 2020 to 40.1% (95% CI, 39.4%-40.7%) in January 2024. In regression models, features associated with lower trust as of spring and summer 2023 included being 25 to 64 years of age, female gender, lower educational level, lower income, Black race, and living in a rural setting. These associations persisted even after controlling for partisanship. In turn, greater trust was associated with greater likelihood of vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 4.94; 95 CI, 4.21-5.80) or influenza (adjusted OR, 5.09; 95 CI, 3.93-6.59) and receiving a SARS-CoV-2 booster (adjusted OR, 3.62; 95 CI, 2.99-4.38). Conclusions and Relevance This survey study of US adults suggests that trust in physicians and hospitals decreased during the COVID-19 pandemic. As lower levels of trust were associated with lesser likelihood of pursuing vaccination, restoring trust may represent a public health imperative.
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Confiança
/
SARS-CoV-2
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COVID-19
Limite:
Adolescent
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Adult
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Aged
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Female
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Humans
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Male
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Middle aged
País/Região como assunto:
America do norte
Idioma:
En
Revista:
JAMA Netw Open
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article