Ahluwalia Sangeeta C, Edelen Maria O, Qureshi Nabeel, Etchegaray Jason M
Department of Behavioral and Policy Sciences RAND Corporation Santa Monica California USA.
Department of Health Policy and Management UCLA Fielding School of Public Health Los Angeles California USA.
Risk Hazards Crisis Public Policy. 2021 Sep;12(3):283-302. doi: 10.1002/rhc3.12219. Epub 2021 Apr 27.
Evidence suggests that people vary in their desire to undertake protective actions during a health emergency, and that trust in authorities may influence decision making. We sought to examine how the trust in health experts and trust in White House leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic impacts individuals' decisions to adopt recommended protective actions such as mask-wearing. A mediation analysis was conducted using cross-sectional U.S. survey data collected between March 27 and 30, 2020, to elucidate how individuals' trust in health experts and White House leadership, their perceptions of susceptibility and severity to COVID-19, and perceived benefits of protecting against COVID-19, influenced their uptake of recommended protective actions. Trust in health experts was associated with greater perceived severity of COVID-19 and benefits of taking action, which led to greater uptake of recommended actions. Trust in White House leadership was associated with lower perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 and was not associated with taking recommended actions. Having trust in health experts is a greater predictor of individuals' uptake of protective actions than having trust in White House leadership. Public health messaging should emphasize the severity of COVID-19 and the benefits of protecting oneself while ensuring consistency and transparency to regain trust in health experts.
有证据表明，在健康紧急情况期间，人们采取保护行动的意愿各不相同，而且对当局的信任可能会影响决策。我们试图研究在新冠疫情期间，对健康专家的信任和对白宫领导层的信任如何影响个人采取诸如佩戴口罩等推荐保护行动的决策。利用2020年3月27日至30日收集的美国横断面调查数据进行了中介分析，以阐明个人对健康专家和白宫领导层的信任、他们对新冠病毒易感性和严重性的认知，以及预防新冠病毒的感知益处，如何影响他们对推荐保护行动的采纳。对健康专家的信任与更高的新冠病毒严重性感知和采取行动的益处相关，这导致对推荐行动的更多采纳。对白宫领导层的信任与更低的新冠病毒易感性感知相关，且与采取推荐行动无关。与信任白宫领导层相比，信任健康专家是个人采纳保护行动的更强预测因素。公共卫生信息应强调新冠病毒的严重性以及自我保护的益处，同时确保一致性和透明度，以重新赢得对健康专家的信任。
