Document Type
Article
Publication Date
6-1-2024
Abstract
Context: Public opinion on the performance of health system actors is polarized today, but it remains unclear which actors enjoy the most or the least trust among Democrats and Republicans, whether the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced how people view their own physicians, and whether doctors have retained the ability to influence public beliefs about policy issues.
Methods: The authors conducted two national surveys in 2022 and 2023 to examine these questions.
Findings: Democrats rated the performance of medical research scientists and public health experts during the pandemic more highly than did Republicans and independents. About three in ten Republicans said the pandemic decreased their trust in their personal doctors. Nonetheless, most Americans reported confidence in physicians. The authors replicated the findings of Gerber and colleagues (2014) to demonstrate that respondents continued to have more positive views of doctors than other professionals and that public opinion was responsive to cues from a doctors’ group.
Conclusions: What polarizes Democrats and Republicans today is not the question of whether medical scientists and public health experts are competent but whether the advice offered by these actors is in the public interest and should guide policy makers’ decisions. Democrats strongly believe the answer to these questions is yes, while Republicans exhibit skepticism.
Recommended Citation
Del Ponte, A., Gerber, A., & Patashnik, E. (2024). Polarization, the Pandemic, and Public Trust in Health System Actors. Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, 49(3), 375-401. https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-11075562
Peer Reviewed
1
Copyright
Duke University Press
Comments
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Journal of Health Politics, Policy and Law, volume 49, issue 3, in 2024 following peer review. This article may not exactly replicate the final published version. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1215/03616878-11075562.
This scholarship is part of the Chapman University COVID-19 Archives.