Association between trust in the incumbent president and Covid-19 preventive behaviors during the pandemic in four Latin American countries

Dados Bibliográficos

ID5166036
AutoresJuliana Mejía-Grueso (0000-0003-0059-2993, Universidad de los Andes, Bolivia), Gloria Isabel Niño-Cruz (0000-0002-4951-5991, Universidad de los Andes, Bolivia), Javiera Alarcón-Aguilar (0000-0003-4267-046X, Universidade de Pernambuco), Pablo Roa-Urrutia (0000-0002-2154-5988, Universidad de los Andes, Bolivia), Sergio Mauricio Moreno-López (0000-0002-3043-0963, Universidad de los Andes, Bolivia), Adriano Akira Ferreira Hino (0000-0003-1649-9419, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Alexandre Augusto De Paula Da Silva (0000-0003-0442-4938, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná), Fanny Lopez (0000-0002-3046-1831, Independent researcher, Chile), Deborah Salvo (0000-0002-9726-0882, The University of Texas at Austin), Roberta Sena Reis (0000-0002-9872-9865, Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, U.S.A), Guillermo Rosas (0000-0001-9166-3296, Washington University in St. Louis), Andrea Ramírez-Varela (0000-0003-2685-9617, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, U.S.A; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, U.S.A; University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, U.S.A)
Ano2025
Volume41
Fascículo1
Páginase00023824-e00023824
Data de publicação2025-01-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoCadernos de Saude Publica (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0102-311X • E-ISSN: 1678-4464
EditoraFapUNIFESP (SciELO) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1590/0102-311xen023824
PMID39936778
OpenAlexW4407426822
SCIELO_PIDS0102-311X2025000101408
IdiomaEN
Referências citadas38

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed disparities in policy responses in Latin America. We examined the association between trust in the president and COVID-19 preventive behaviors in Brazil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. We used data from the Collaborative COVID-19 Response Survey by the McDonnell Academy at Washington University in St. Louis (United States), from September 2020 to March 2021. Nonprobabilistic sampling included adult citizens from the four countries. Multivariate negative binomial regression models were applied. The study included 8,125 participants, with Brazil showing the lowest adherence to preventive behaviors (65.5%). Increased adoption of preventive behaviors was linked with ages 18-26 (aIRR = 1.05; 95%CI: 1.01-1.09), 60 or more (aIRR = 1.10; 95%CI: 1.05-1.15), and high socioeconomic status (aIRR = 1.09; 95%CI: 1.05-1.13). Decreased engagement was linked to participants from Brazil (aIRR = 0.74; 95%CI: 0.71-0.78), Mexico (aIRR = 0.95; 95%CI: 0.92-0.99), basic education (aIRR = 0.75; 95%CI: 0.68-0.84), intermediate education (aIRR = 0.88; 95%CI: 0.85-0.91), low socioeconomic status (aIRR = 0.91; 95%CI: 0.87-0.94), lack of concern about contracting COVID-19 (aIRR = 0.93; 95%CI: 0.88-0.98), and poor knowledge about COVID-19 (aIRR = 0.92; 95%CI: 0.88-0.96). No significant association was found between trust in the president and preventive behaviors. Targeted communication, public education, and improved access to reliable information are crucial for fostering preventive behaviors. Public health practitioners should not overly concern themselves with political rhetoric, as our study suggests that trust in political authorities may not systematically affect compliance with directives

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) · Environmental health · Family medicine · Latin Americans · Multivariate analysis · Pandemic · Political science · Public health · Socioeconomic status · COVID-19 and Mental Health · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Demography · Internal Medicine · Medicine · Misinformation and Its Impacts · Nursing