Trust in Medicine as a Factor Conditioning Behaviors Recommended by Healthcare Experts during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland

Marta Makowska, Rafał Boguszewski and Monika Podkowińska
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Marta Makowska: Department of Sociology, Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Rafał Boguszewski: Department of Sociology, Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland
Monika Podkowińska: Department of Sociology, Institute of Sociological Sciences and Pedagogy, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-787 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 1, 1-11

Abstract: Objective: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts have faced the challenge of convincing people to change their everyday habits. This study aims to evaluate the impact of trust in medicine on Polish citizens’ adherence to recommended behaviors. Methods: An online survey was conducted on a quota sample of adult Poles ( n = 1072) during the second wave of COVID-19. Results: The trust-in-medicine index was created from statements relating to trust in healthcare professionals, vaccines, and medicines. This index showed that 27.1% of respondents expressed low trust, 36.7% expressed moderate trust, and 36.3% expressed high trust. The recommended behavior index was created from nine statements. This index showed that 15.8% of respondents had low adherence, 38.2% had moderate adherence, and 46.0% had high adherence to the healthcare experts’ recommendations. One-way analysis of variance showed that people with a high trust had significantly higher scores on the recommended behavior index when compared to people with a moderate or low trust. Conclusions: This study suggests that those responsible for health policy should put more effort into building trust not only in health professionals, but also in pharmaceutical companies. We also determined the socio-demographic features of people to whom such actions of trust building should be directed.

Keywords: trust; COVID-19; behavior; healthcare; pharmaceutical industry; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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