The role of institutional trust in preventive practices and treatment-seeking intention during the coronavirus disease 2019 outbreak among residents in Hubei, China

Wong LP 1 , Wu Q 2 , Hao Y 2 , Chen X 3 , Chen Z 4 , Alias H 5 Show all authors , Shen M 6 , Hu J 7 , Duan S 1 , Zhang J 8 , Han L 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 HwaMei Hospital, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
  • 2 Department of Social Medicine, Health Management College, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, China
  • 3 Yale School of Public Health, PO Box 208034, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
  • 4 College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
  • 5 Centre for Epidemiology and Evidence-Based Practice, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • 6 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shanxi 710061, China
  • 7 Department of Epidemiology, Zhejiang Provincial Key Laboratory of Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Ningbo University, Ningbo, Zhejiang, China
  • 8 College of Food and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315000, China
Int Health, 2021 May 04.
PMID: 33945613 DOI: 10.1093/inthealth/ihab023

Abstract

BACKGROUND: We aimed to investigate the association between institution trust and public responses to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak.

METHODS: An Internet-based, cross-sectional survey was administered on 29 January 2020. A total of 4393 adults ≥18 y of age and residing or working in the province of Hubei, central China were included in the study.

RESULTS: The majority of the participants expressed a great degree of trust in the information and preventive instructions provided by the central government compared with the local government. Being under quarantine (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.35 [95% confidence interval {CI} 1.80 to 3.08]) and having a high institutional trust score (OR 2.23 [95% CI 1.96 to 2.53]) were both strong and significant determinants of higher preventive practices scores. The majority of study participants (n=3640 [85.7%]) reported that they would seek hospital treatment if they suspected themselves to have been infected with COVID-19. Few of the participants from Wuhan (n=475 [16.6%]) and those participants who were under quarantine (n=550 [13.8%]) expressed an unwillingness to seek hospital treatment.

CONCLUSIONS: Institutional trust is an important factor influencing adequate preventive behaviour and seeking formal medical care during an outbreak.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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