Trust in government and its associations with health behaviour and prosocial behaviour during the COVID-19 pandemic (original) (raw)
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This article examines the impact of COVID-19 pandemic shocks on trust in government and institutions and investigates how government interventions can mitigate it. We analyze data from the first wave of the "Values in Crisis" project, covering 18 countries worldwide. These surveys were conducted mostly in 2020 amid major social and economic disruptions. Our main finding is that both aid packages and interpersonal trust play a crucial role in counteracting the adverse effects of the unprecedented shocks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic on institutional trust. Additionally, we find that employment protection programs contribute to sustaining trust in government and institutions.
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Psychometric properties of public trust in Covid-19 control and prevention policies questionnaire
BMC Public Health, 2022
Background Public trust is a crucial concept in the COVID-19 pandemic, which determines public adherence with preventive rules as a success factor for disease management. This study aimed to develop and validate a tool to measure public trust in COVID-19 control and prevention policies (COV-Trust tool). Methods This is a psychometric study that was conducted in 2020 (March-August). A primary tool was developed through literature review, in-depth interviews with experts and expert panel meetings. Content and construct validity was evaluated using content validity index (CVI) and content validity ratio (CVR) indexes and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis, respectively. Cronbach α coefficient was calculated to determine the internal consistency. Results A 28-item questionnaire with seven factors was developed. Factors included macro policy-making and management of pandemic, pandemic control policies implementing at all levels and their effectiveness, providing protective equipment and medicine for hospitals and public, prevention of negative socioeconomic consequences of the pandemic, public participation, informing and public education and public behavior. The questionnaire reliability was calculated to be α = 0.959. Based on the experts' opinion, tool content validity was estimated to be CVR = 0.73, CVI = 0.89. RMSEA = 0.07 revealed a good model fit as the confirmatory factor analysis results for the tool. Conclusion COV-Trust tool is a well-fit tool to be used during this pandemic for improving policies effectiveness and could be used in similar situations as it determines the success of public health interventions. Highlights: • Investigating public trust during the outbreak of Covid-19 is of utmost important for both research and policy making perspectives. • COV-Trust tool (Seven factors and 31 items) was developed and validated. • COV-Trust tool comprehensively assesses public trust in various aspects of policies and their determinants and can provide valuable information for promoting the effectiveness of policies.
International Journal of Public Health
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of government trust on young adults’ adoption of health behaviors to prevent infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus.Method: We tested the hypothesis that government trust would directly and indirectly (through worry/fear and subjective norms) influence the adoption of health-protective behaviors. A sample of 1,136 university students completed a web survey after Chile’s first wave of infections.Results: The results indicate that low government trust only indirectly (through subjective norms) influenced health-protective behaviors. Conversely, worry/fear was the primary motivating factor for adopting health-protective behaviors in young adults, followed by subjective norms.Conclusion: In scenarios where people perceive low government trust, emotions and social norms are the motivational factors with the most significant predictive power on the adoption of health-protective behaviors.
International Journal of Public Health, 2023
Objectives: This study aimed to examine the levels of trust in information provided by public authorities 2 years after the COVID-19 outbreak and to examine factors associated with trust. Methods: Using a cross-national approach, online survey data was collected from four Western countries-Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. Differences in reports of very low or low levels of trust were examined by age, gender, area of residence, and the highest level of education in the four countries. Results: Levels of trust in the public authorities' information were highest among Norwegian respondents and lowest among U.K. respondents. Lower levels of trust in public authorities were found among males, individuals living in rural or remote areas, and those with lower levels of education. Conclusion: The outcomes contribute to knowledge regarding differences between sociodemographic groups and countries regarding the levels of trust people have in public authorities' information concerning a crisis, such as COVID-19. Strategies to promote trust in societies in different countries could consider these socio-demographic differences.
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Review question / Objective: We will use the Condition-Context-Population (CoCoPop) framework (Munn et al., 2015) in this review, which aims to explore the following question: Do the features of respiratory epidemics and pandemics (e.g., magnitude, duration) impact the associations between (types of) trust in government and compliance with health guidelines? Condition being studied: The association between trust in government and authorities and civic compliance with health guidelines during respiratory epidemics and pandemics. Eligibility criteria: 1. Studies that explore the relationship between trust in government and authorities and civic compliance or compliance intentions with real or simulated health guidelines, during respiratory epidemics and pandemics; 2. Studies that focus on the following pandemics: avian influenza (H5N1), swine influenza (H1N1), Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19; 3. Studies on the general heal...
Effects of Cultural Orientations and Trust in Government on Behavioral Intentions During a Pandemic
Health Communication, 2022
Public health messages disseminated by trusted government authorities are likely to have more influence over individuals’ intentions and behaviors. However, individuals worldwide have different levels of trust in government authorities, which leads to varying levels of compliance intentions. Additionally, these trust levels may vary during major public crises, such as pandemics. Based on a COVID-19 pandemic commu- nication survey (N = 3,065) disseminated throughout six countries (Australia, Finland, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States), this study examined the association among trust in distinct government sources, cultural orientations, and health behavioral intentions. Findings indicated that trust in official health communication sources at four governmental levels (i.e. national government, the head of the national government, the national health authority, and the chief representative of the national health authority) was related to vaccination intentions and other behavioral compliance intentions (i.e. will- ingness to prevent COVID-19 infection in other ways). Meanwhile, these direct associations were mediated by the cultural orientations of power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Findings also revealed that the direct association of trust in government sources and the indirect relationship through the above cultural orientations varied by country. This study offers insight into the important role of credible sources and individuals’ cultural orientations in the domain of health communication aimed at influencing behavioral intentions.