The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, risk perception, and perceived social support on public trust in physicians in China: A latent transition analysis

Abstract

A population-based, longitudinal study was conducted among 29 provinces in mainland China to investigate how public trust in physicians (PTP) changed since the outbreak of COVID-19 and how the resulting lockdown and social support contributed to its restoration. The baseline sample ( n = 3,233) was obtained during the period of the most rapid progression of COVID-19 (February 1 to 9, 2020, T1). Follow-up ( n = 1,380) took place during the recovery period (March 17 to 24, T2). Latent profile models and a latent transition model were estimated. Participants were classified into either a moderate trust (21% at T1; 45% transition into high at T2) or a high trust (79% at T1; 88% remained in the high group) group in the latent profile. A latent transition from moderate to high trust was observed in locked-down regions and among those with higher social support. Social support moderated the transition from low to high trust. The current study showed that the epidemic outbreak and lockdown experience in China were associated with increased PTP; furthermore, public trust can be restored during a public health emergency. Attention should be paid to assure that social support and risk management strategies maintain PTP.

Effect of Perspective-Taking on Trust Between Doctors and Patients: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Studies have shown that media communication could impact the development of doctor–patient relationships (Chai, 2017 ; Sartorius et al, 2010). During the epidemic, there was a great deal of media coverage regarding the contributions made by healthcare workers, which also enhanced patients’ trust in doctors (Chen et al, 2022 ). Similarly, the relationship between patients and doctors improved during the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003, but the effect did not last.…”

Challenges of the normalization and resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic on public mentality

“…For studies related to social attitude, Wei et al (2022), from the perspective of functionalist emotion theory (FET), argued that emotion regulation is an adaptive function that makes an important contribution to social functioning and mental health (Aldao et al, 2010;Eisenberg et al, 2000). Zhang et al (2022), from the perspective of social identity (Brown, 2000), indicated that group-based assessment generates group-based emotions such as trust and social satisfaction. Ying et al (2023) from the perspective of the theory of psychological catharsis (Jackson, 1994), demonstrated that people's special preference for anger and aggressive feelings and attitudes is because aggressive expressions help to vent and relieve the tension and anxiety caused by the pandemic.…”

“…In addition to individual mental health, researchers have further explored the impact of COVID-19 at the societal level. For example, focusing on the physician population, Chen et al (2022) explored the trajectory of change in physician–patient trust and found that a shift from moderate to high trust was observed in the blockade area and among those with high social support, and that social support moderated the shift from low to high trust. Wang et al (2023) used big data on microblogs to verify whether the COVID-19 outbreak changed Chinese individualism and collectivism from a cultural perspective.…”

Public trust of physicians in China improved since the COVID-19 pandemic Began

“…While public trust in physicians had declined before the COVID-19 pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis offers an opportunity to restore trust in physicians. A study based on 1350 Chinese adults showed that the COVID-19 epidemic outbreak and lockdown were associated with increased public trust in physicians ( Chen et al, 2022 ). This result, however, may not be generalizable given the cross-sectional nature of the data and the sampling design used.…”