The role of communication transparency and organizational trust in publics' perceptions, attitudes and social distancing behaviour: A case study of the COVID‐19 outbreak

Abstract

Integrating social cognitive theory and public relations literature, this study examines the effectiveness of organizations' transparent communication in building public trust and encouraging health‐protection behaviours (i.e. social distancing) during a pandemic, that is, the COVID‐19 outbreak. Three aspects of transparent communication are investigated, namely information substantiality, accountability and participation. Results of an online survey of American citizens show that during the early stage of COVID‐19, information substantiality by state governments and health institutes (e.g., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) increases publics' trust, which positively influences their perceived risks, behavioural control and subjective norms. The participation of health institutes, rather than state governments, significantly increases public trust, whereas accountability has no effects. Individuals' perceptions and attitudes towards social distancing predict their social distancing behaviour during the outbreak. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Factors Affecting COVID-19 Preventive Behaviors among University Students in Beijing, China: An Empirical Study Based on the Extended Theory of Planned Behavior

“…For example, an empirical study by Siuki et al [ 41 ] revealed that health education interventions regarding HIV and AIDS prevention behaviors exerted a significant impact on the attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control among health volunteers in Iran. Lee and Li [ 42 ] demonstrated that organizational trust was related to individuals’ perceived norms and perceived behavioral control toward social distancing behavior during the early stages of COVID-19 in the United States. Based on the extended TPB model and existing empirical evidence, we argue that the institutional climate may first influence TPB components and then enhance students’ preventive behaviors for COVID-19.…”

Trust in Institutions, Not in Political Leaders, Determines Covid-19 Public Health Compliance in Societies across the Globe

“…For considering actions or policies that can be done to improve institutional trust in societies, it is important to note that the public in modern democracies now expects more transparency and inclusion during government decision making (35). Policy implementation is more successful when the public's needs for explanation are met (23,32).…”

“…religious versus secular, rural versus urban, etc.) (35,48). Admissions of uncertainty in official communications are also crucial and expected in most cultures, as they signal honesty and openness from public health officials (25,26,37,49).…”

“…The finding that institutional trust towards public health agencies and experts is critical for securing public health compliance, leads to the question at the public policy level: What government behaviors can be done to better foster trust between the public and their health-related institutions to promote cooperation in public health measures? Transparency, especially from public health agencies, has long been suspected to be important in improving trust towards public health responses during pandemics, but understanding the nature of the impact of transparency on public trust has been historically difficult in policy research (28,35).…”

Crisis Communication During the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…In communicating with the public during a crisis, what is essential is not only "what" is communicated (e.g., message content) but also "who" conveys the information and "how" it is communicated (Larson & Heymann, 2010). Quinn (2013) found that during In a pandemic, "who" is responsible for communication (e.g., government and health officials) must pay attention to not only "what" is communicated (i.e., the content of communication) but also "how" it is delivered (Lee and Li, 2021).…”