Many U.S. Adults Lost Trust in Physicians, Hospitals During Pandemic

TUESDAY, Aug. 6, 2024 (HealthDay News) — U.S. adults lost trust in physicians and hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published online July 31 in JAMA Network Open.

Roy H. Perlis, M.D., from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and colleagues examined how trust in physicians and hospitals changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The analysis included survey results from 582,634 responses across 24 survey waves (443,455 unique respondents).

The researchers found that overall, the proportion of adults reporting a lot of trust for physicians and hospitals decreased from 71.5 percent in April 2020 to 40.1 percent in January 2024. Factors associated with lower trust in spring and summer 2023 included ages 25 to 64 years, female gender, lower educational level, lower income, Black race, and living in a rural setting. Even when controlling for partisanship, results persisted. Greater trust was associated with greater likelihood of vaccination for SARS-CoV-2 (adjusted odds ratio, 4.94) or influenza (adjusted odds ratio, 5.09) and receiving a SARS-CoV-2 booster (adjusted odds ratio, 3.62).

“As lower levels of trust were associated with lesser likelihood of pursuing vaccination, restoring trust may represent a public health imperative,” the authors write.

One author disclosed providing consulting services for pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.

Abstract/Full Text