LIST OF PANELS

There is wide agreement in policy circles, academia and society at large that life in societies where people can trust the institutions which govern social relations (Eg. law, police, politics, medicine), is easier and happier; that such societies are more likely to be prosperous, politically stable, democratic and inclusive. The Edelman Trust Barometer Survey has consistently recorded low and falling levels of trust in key societal institutions globally; in 2017 they noted that levels of trust were at an all-time low. Similarly, research from across the world points to falling levels of trust in the medical profession and in health systems. This panel will engage with some key issues that have a bearing on this problem; broadly, it tackles the research questions:

-       What bearing do current public and health policies have on trust in the medical profession and in health systems?

-       And what mechanisms might enable policy responses to engender and enhance trust?

In relation to these research questions, a number of related issues stand out in the literature. While trust in the medical profession and in health systems is falling, world over, people tend to be very trusting of and confident about the competence, benevolence, and integrity of ‘their’ doctor. This paradox of falling institutional trust and high interpersonal trust in the medical professionals, presents unique challenges to how health services are provided, organised and governed, globally. A further but related contradiction was evident in the recent  policy response to COVID 19 where the populist movement, supported by some governments, voiced a decline in trust in experts in general, including medicine, yet in many parts of the world  governments tied themselves to science or medical science as a basis at least for their initial policies. This complicated and contradictory interaction notwithstanding, it is widely believed that COVID 19 might shape trust in the medical profession and in the experts in the health system in unexpected and unprecedented ways.

In this panel we invite both conceptual and empirical papers which bear upon the salience of trust in either or in all of, the provision, organisation and governance of health systems, across the issues outlined above, and beyond. Within the rubric of the broad questions outlined in the general objectives above, we invite papers which:

-       Explore the nature of trust relations from the perspectives of both patients, in a world increasingly sceptical of experts, and professionals, who increasingly practice in contexts of uncertainty and complexity.

-       Unpack the bases on which the public or patients trust the medical profession.

-       Critically examine the discrepancy between institutional trust and interpersonal trust. We are particularly interested in papers which explore the relationship between institutional and interpersonal trust.

-       And what might explain the fact that the interpersonal ‘face work’ carried out by doctors at the frontline microlevel is having little impact on trust at the more abstract, institutional level?

-       Reflect upon and critically explore the ways in which COVID 19 might shape trust in the medical profession and in the experts in the health system.

-       Examine, against a setting of upheaval and uncertainty, if and how does medical expertise remain insulated and how far has the Covid 19 epidemic led to a change in these trust relations?

As outlined in the general objectives we are looking for contributions that critically examine and reveal how current public and health policies shape trust in the medical profession and in health systems. Drawing on insights from across the world, the panel will seek to identify mechanisms that could inform public and health service policies to enhance both institutional and interpersonal trust. Contributions that bring to bear multiple and interdisciplinary perspectives (sociology, economy, anthropology, politics, public health, public policy) on how trust matters in health systems should ensure a rich discussion in the panel and enable practical insights to emerge.