Trust in Physicians and Hospitals Decreased Over Pandemic, According to Study

During the COVID-19 pandemic, trust in U.S. physicians and hospitals fell from 71% to 40% across sociodemographic groups, according to a study led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). CIDRAP has the news.

The survey asked U.S. adults in all 50 states about “trust in physicians and hospitals, as well as COVID-19 and influenza vaccination status.” Among the 582,634 responses from 443,455 different adults, trust fell from 71% to 40%, and “adults who reported lower levels of trust were less likely to have received COVID-19 vaccines or boosters.”

Lower trust was tied to such factors as “lower educational attainment, lower income, Black race, and urban residence.” Higher levels of trust were linked to “greater odds of COVID-19 vaccination (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.94), flu vaccination (aOR, 5.09), and receipt of a COVID-19 booster dose (aOR, 3.62).”

200 adults who indicated the lowest levels of trust cited “perceptions of financial motives over patient care (35.0%), poor quality of care and negligence (27.5%), other (19.5%), influence of external entities and agendas (13.5%), and discrimination and bias (4.5%).”