New Delhi, July 26 (IANS): People are more likely to trust doctors and scientists, while their faith in public health agencies and social media is much less, finds a study.

The study, conducted at the University of Florida examined the factors fueling this mistrust and explored potential solutions.

The team analysed responses from 5,842 adults in the US.

The results, published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, showed that 95 per cent of respondents trust doctors highly, trust in scientists was at 84 per cent. But faith in government health agencies (70 per cent) was lower. Social media garnered the least trust, with only 18 per cent of respondents considering it a reliable source.

"Individuals who perceive conflict among experts about health recommendations, and who perceive that recommendations are constantly changing, have significantly lower trust in health information provided by government health agencies," said Mainous.

The study's findings suggest that the public's perception of conflicting and changing recommendations contributes to a lack of trust in scientists and health agencies.

"Our scientific and medical knowledge is always in flux, leading the public to question the expertise of government health agencies and perceive a political angle when it comes to recommendation," Mainous said.

To restore trust, the study suggests leveraging the trust in doctors.

"Government agencies need to continue to provide patient education but focus more on letting individual physicians disseminate agency recommendations to patients," Mainous said.

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