Global Report Indicates World's Trust in Science, Scientists Rises Amid COVID-19 Pandemic

February 10, 2022 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

Overall trust of scientists and their research during the COVID-19 pandemic has increased by nine percentage points between 2018 and 2020, according to the results from the November 2021 Wellcome Global Monitor 2020: COVID-19 (https://cms.wellcome.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Wellcome-Global-Monitor-Covid.pdf) report.

The Wellcome foundation explored (https://cms.wellcome.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Wellcome-Global-Monitor-Covid.pdf) how the pandemic influenced the public’s perceptions of science, healthcare systems, and governments based on a survey of more than 119,000 people in 113 countries. The report’s key findings include (https://cms.wellcome.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Wellcome-Global-Monitor-Covid.pdf):

“Trust in science and scientists has perhaps never been more important in recent times than during the coronavirus pandemic, as most people have been asked not change their lives in response to recommendations made by the scientific and medical communities,” the Wellcome research group said (https://cms.wellcome.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Wellcome-Global-Monitor-Covid.pdf). “Globally, people were more likely to express a high degree of trust in science and scientists in 2020 than they were in 2018: the percentage who said they trust science a lot rose nine percentage points, as did the percentage who place a lot of trust in scientists in their country.”

The percentage of people who trusted physicians and nurses in their country also increased from 2018–2020. In addition, the researchers considered (https://cms.wellcome.org/sites/default/files/2021-11/Wellcome-Global-Monitor-Covid.pdf) the amount of trust people had for these professionals in correlation to their own self-assessed scientific knowledge. Among those who trusted in science and scientists, the groups that saw the biggest increase in trust from those who indicated that they did not know much about science.

Each day, the public receives new, trusted, and evidence-based information and guidance from scientists, researchers, and direct care providers—as well as misinformation from unreliable sources. As a nurse, you can take action in two ways: (a) join ONS in advocating (https://www.ons.org/make-difference/ons-center-advocacy-and-health-policy) for support for nurse and other scientists as well as those on the front lines of care, and (b) use the confidence the American public has given you as the most trusted profession (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/gallup-poll-ranks-nurses-most-honest-and-ethical-profession-for-20th-consecutive-year) to share reliable information and resources (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/share-these-resources-to-increase-covid-19-vaccination-rates) and dispel misinformation (https://voice.ons.org/advocacy/us-surgeon-general-issues-report-on-dangers-of-health-misinformation-during-the-covid-19).


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