The Role of Institutional Trust in Medical Care Seeking during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Li Ping Wong, Qunhong Wu, Yanhua Hao, Xi Chen, Zhuo Chen, Haridah Alias, Mingwang Shen, Jingcen Hu, Shiwei Duan, Jinjie Zhang and Liyuan Han

No 558, GLO Discussion Paper Series from Global Labor Organization (GLO)

Abstract: This paper investigates the associations between institution trust and public response to the COVID-19 outbreak. An Internet-based, cross-sectional survey was administered on January 29, 2020 to the epicenter Hubei province, China. A total of 4,393 adults who ≥18 years of age and residing or working in the province of Hubei were included in the study. The majority of the participants expressed a higher level of trust in the information and preventive instructions provided by the central government than by the local government. Being under quarantine (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.35, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.80–3.08) and having a high institutional trust score (OR = 2.23, 95% CI 1.96–2.53) were both strong and significant determinants of higher preventive behavior scores. The majority of study participants (85.7%, n = 3,640) reported that they would seek hospital treatment if they suspected themselves to have been infected with COVID-19. Few of the participants from Wuhan (16.6%, n = 475) and those participants who were under quarantine (13.8%, n = 550) expressed an unwillingness to seek hospital treatment. Institutional trust is an important factor influencing adequate preventive behavior and seeking formal medical care during an outbreak.

Date: 2020
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-cna, nep-hea and nep-soc
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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