Although most people agree that vaccines are safe, the proportion is lower in high-income regions
MONDAY, June 24, 2019 (HealthDay News) — Globally, about three-quarters of people trust doctors or nurses more than other sources when it comes to health advice, according to a report published online June 19 by the Wellcome Global Monitor.
More than 140,000 people, aged 15 years and older, from more than 140 countries were surveyed regarding their attitudes to health and science.
According to the report, 73 percent of people say they would trust a doctor or nurse more than other sources of health advice. Eighty-four percent of people say that they trust medical and health advice from medical workers, while only 76 percent trust that same advice from the government. Seventy-nine percent of respondents report somewhat or strongly agreeing that vaccines are safe. The proportion of people agreeing that vaccines are safe was lower in high-income regions (72 percent in Northern America, and 73, 59, and 50 percent in Northern, Western, and Eastern Europe). Ninety-two percent of parents worldwide report that their children had received a vaccine. In most regions, people with high trust in doctors and nurses are very likely to consider that vaccines are safe.
“No matter how great your idea, how exciting your new treatment, or how robust your science, it must be accepted by the people who stand to benefit from it,” Jeremy Farrar, M.B.B.S., the director of Wellcome, said in a statement. “Vaccines, for example, are one of our most powerful public health tools, and we need people to have confidence in them if they are to be most effective.”
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