Medical mistrust such as Ebola conspiracy beliefs may influence health behaviors during infectious disease outbreaks.

Medical Mistrust in the Context of Ebola

Implications for Intended Care-Seeking and Quarantine Policy Support in the United States

Valerie A. Earnshaw, Laura M. Bogart, Michael Klompas, Ingrid T. Katz

ResearchPosted on rand.org Jul 5, 2016Published in: Journal of Health Psychology, 2016

This investigation explores Ebola conspiracy beliefs, a form of medical mistrust, and their potential impact on health behavior. Results of an online survey in the United States in December 2014 demonstrated that 16 percent of 202 participants held conspiracy beliefs. Participants who were less knowledgeable about Ebola, more mistrustful of medical organizations, and more xenophobic more strongly endorsed conspiracy beliefs. Participants who more strongly endorsed conspiracy beliefs reported that they would be less likely to seek care for Ebola and were less supportive of quarantining people returning from West Africa. Results suggest that medical mistrust may influence health behaviors during infectious disease outbreaks.

Key Takeaways

  • We recruited about 200 individuals for this study via Amazon Mechanical Turk.
  • 16 percent of the participants endorsed conspiracy beliefs about Ebola.
  • Those endorsing such beliefs were less knowledgeable about Ebola, more mistrustful of medical organizations, and more xenophobic.
  • They also reported they would be less likely to seek care for Ebola and did not support quarantine policy.

Recommendation

As outbreaks of new infectious diseases occur, it will be important for public health and other officials to take seriously and immediately address emerging conspiracy theories.

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