Exploring the Role of Trust in Scientists to Explain Health-Related Behaviors in Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The devastating COVID-19 pandemic has cast a light on the question of why trust in scientists is important. This mixed-method study aimed to explore the study participants’ trust in scientists about getting the COVID-19 vaccine. It also aimed to reveal which key sources of information participants followed about the pandemic. Participants’ health-related behaviors and justifications for their behaviors as a response to the pandemic were also explored to understand how trust in scientists and sources of information played a role in the fight against COVID-19. The responses of 1233 participants across Turkey were analyzed. The findings indicated that trust in scientists and compliance with the scientists’ suggested behaviors among the participants were quite high. It was also revealed that, for both trust and non-trust groups, participants questioned the reliability of information and the sources. Participants justified their behaviors mainly by referring to policies, e.g., masks, distance, and hygiene, developed and implemented with the collaboration of government, scientists, and the World Health Organization. Moreover, trust issues regarding scientists, government authorities, or other citizens were mentioned in participants’ justifications. The current study also shed light on the importance of building trust through an open and healthy dialogue among scientists, government authorities, and the public to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. The study highlighted the need for scientifically informed citizens to deal with the problems, i.e., misinformation and disinformation, in the post-truth era such as not jeopardizing effective solutions to eliminate the pandemic, e.g., taking the vaccine.

Knowledge of Human Monkeypox and Its Relation to Conspiracy Beliefs among Students in Jordanian Health Schools: Filling the Knowledge Gap on Emerging Zoonotic Viruses

“…In this study, the vast majority of respondents reported trusting information about the viruses from scientific experts. This result coupled with findings from recent studies on the role of scientific experts, physicians, and scientific journals highlights the significance of reliable sources of information in providing accurate knowledge, with a possible positive impact on health behavior [ 44 , 49 , 85 ].…”

(Why) Is Misinformation a Problem?

“…The most commonly referenced behavioral effects pertain to health behaviors in response to false claims (e.g., antivaccine movements, speculated vaccine-autism link, genetically modified mosquitos and the Zika virus, COVID-19; Bode & Vraga, 2017; Bronstein et al, 2021; Galanis et al, 2021; Gangarosa et al, 1998; Greene & Murphy, 2021; Joslyn et al, 2021; Kadenko et al, 2021; Loomba et al, 2021; Muğaloğlu et al, 2022; van der Linden et al, 2020; Van Prooijen et al, 2021; Xiao & Wong, 2020). The same association has also been made between misinformation associated with anthropogenic climate change and resistance to adopting proenvironmental behaviors (Gimpel et al, 2020; Soutter et al, 2020).…”

Изменчивость Ковид-Скептических Установок В России: Результаты Анализа Двух Волн Лонгитюдного Опроса «Ценности В Кризисе»

“…Оба они выступают как частные варианты более широкого комплекса установок и идей, отражающих склонность ставить под сомнение достижения и постулаты современной науки, который включает в себя такие явления, как отрицание климатических изменений или теории эволюции и неприятие ГМО [Gemenis, 2021;Rutjens et al, 2021;Scheitle, Corcoran, 2021;Reinemann et al, 2022;Priniski, Holyoak, 2022]. Характерно, что люди, демонстрирующие высокий уровень доверия науке, в большей степени соблюдают рекомендованные ВОЗ и национальными правительствами меры по предотвращению заражения коронавирусом [Muğaloğlu et al, 2022].…”