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Holroyd TA, Limaye RJ, Gerber JE, Rimal RN, Musci RJ, Brewer J, Sutherland A, Blunt M, Geller G, Salmon DA. Development of a Scale to Measure Trust in Public Health Authorities: Prevalence of Trust and Association with Vaccination. JOURNAL OF HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2021; 26:272-280. [PMID: 33998402 PMCID: PMC8225577 DOI: 10.1080/10810730.2021.1927259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Infectious disease outbreaks highlight the importance of trust in public health authorities to avoid fear and improve adherence to recommendations. There is currently no established and validated measure for trust in public health authorities. We aimed to develop and validate an instrument that measures trust in public health authorities and to assess the association between trust in public health authorities and vaccine attitudes. We developed 20 items to measure trust in public health authorities. After implementing a survey in January 2020, we investigated relationships between the items, reduced the number of items, and identified latent constructs of the scale. We assessed variability in trust and how trust was associated with vaccine attitudes, beliefs, and self-reported vaccine acceptance. The pool was reduced to a 14-item trust in public health authorities scale and we found that this trust model was strongly associated with acceptance of vaccines. Our scale can be used to examine the relationship between trust in public health authorities and adherence to public health recommendations. The measure needs to be validated in other settings to determine whether they are associated with other areas where the public question public health authority recommendations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Taylor A. Holroyd
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Rupali J. Limaye
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- International Vaccine Access Center, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Jennifer E. Gerber
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Rajiv N. Rimal
- Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Rashelle J. Musci
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Janesse Brewer
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Andrea Sutherland
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
| | - Madeleine Blunt
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
| | - Gail Geller
- Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Berman Institute of Bioethics, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD
| | - Daniel A. Salmon
- Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Department of Health, Behavior & Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
- Institute for Vaccine Safety, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
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Medicine and the media: Medical experts' problems and solutions while working with journalists. PLoS One 2019; 14:e0220897. [PMID: 31513581 PMCID: PMC6742352 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0220897] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 07/25/2019] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Medical experts are one of the main sources used by journalists in reporting on medical science. This study aims to 1) identify problems that medical experts encounter in contacts with the media representatives, 2) elucidate their attitudes about interactions with journalists and 3) reflect on solutions that could improve the quality of medical journalism. By using in-depth interviews, focus groups and a survey directed to 600 medical experts in 21 countries, this cohort study elucidates medical experts' experiences and views on participating in popular media. A strong interest in interacting with the media was identified among the experts, where nearly one fifth of the respondents in the survey claimed that they contacted the media more than 10 times per year. Six obstacles for improving the quality of medical reporting in the media were found: deadlines, headlines, choice of topic or angle, journalist's level of medical knowledge, differences in professional culture and colleagues' opinions. The main concern among experts was that short deadlines and exaggerated headlines could harm journalistic quality. It is possible that this is partly due to ongoing changes in the media landscape with many new platforms and less control functions. Nevertheless, for several reasons many experts have great interest in interacting with the media, something that could contribute to better communication and fewer misunderstandings. Our results highlight factors like expert networks, media training for scientists and regular meetings that may facilitate communication between medical experts and medical reporters.
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Rocha ÉGD, Rocha PLBD. Scientists, environmental managers and science journalists: A hierarchical model to comprehend and enhance the environmental decision-making process. Perspect Ecol Conserv 2018. [DOI: 10.1016/j.pecon.2018.08.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
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Abstract
As new media proliferate and the public's trust and engagement in science are influenced by industry involvement in academic research, an interdisciplinary workshop provides some recommendations to enhance science communication.
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Peters HP, Brossard D, de Cheveigné S, Dunwoody S, Kallfass M, Miller S, Tsuchida S. Science communication. Interactions with the mass media. Science 2008; 321:204-5. [PMID: 18625578 DOI: 10.1126/science.1157780] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Hans Peter Peters
- Program Group Humans-Environment-Technology, Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
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Cook DM, Boyd EA, Grossmann C, Bero LA. Reporting science and conflicts of interest in the lay press. PLoS One 2007; 2:e1266. [PMID: 18060060 PMCID: PMC2092382 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0001266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2007] [Accepted: 11/11/2007] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Forthright reporting of financial ties and conflicts of interest of researchers is associated with public trust in and esteem for the scientific enterprise. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We searched Lexis/Nexis Academic News for the top news stories in science published in 2004 and 2005. We conducted a content analysis of 1152 newspaper stories. Funders of the research were identified in 38% of stories, financial ties of the researchers were reported in 11% of stories, and 5% reported financial ties of sources quoted. Of 73 stories not reporting on financial ties, 27% had financial ties publicly disclosed in scholarly journals. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Because science journalists often did not report conflict of interest information, adherence to gold-standard recommendations for science journalism was low. Journalists work under many different constraints, but nonetheless news reports of scientific research were incomplete, potentially eroding public trust in science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel M Cook
- School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada, United States of America.
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