Poll: Americans have high trust in doctors, nurses
Most Americans have high trust in doctors, nurses and pharmacists, a new poll finds.
At least 7 in 10 Americans trust doctors, nurses and pharmacists to do what’s right for them and their families either most or all of the time, according to the poll from the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy and Associated
PRESS-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
The poll shows high levels of trust among both Democrats and Republicans; men and women; and white, Black and Hispanic Americans.
When people get treatment or a service from a doctor or a nurse, they start building trust and then tend to return to those providers when they need more help or have questions about a health issue, said Michelle Strollo, a senior vice president in NORC’S Health Research Group.
Doctors earn broad trust from the American public, and a slim majority are in favor of federal funding for increasing the number of doctors, according to the poll. But only about 2 in 10 support government funds for raising doctors’ pay. Half of Americans say doctors are paid about right. However, most Americans, including majorities of both Democrats
and Republicans, think nurses and health care aides are underpaid.
Even amid the pandemic, the poll finds no significant shifts in opinions about health care policies, including the Affordable Care
Act, a single payer health system or a public option.
The AP-NORC poll of 1,071 adults was conducted from June 10 to 14. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.