AUTHOR=Shibli Haneen , Palkin Daiana , Aharonson-Daniel Limor , Davidovitch Nadav , Daoud Nihaya 

TITLE=Inequalities in Trust Levels and Compliance With Physical Distancing During COVID-19 Outbreaks: Comparing the Arab Minority and Jewish Populations in Israel

JOURNAL=International Journal of Public Health

VOLUME=Volume 67 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/international-journal-of-public-health/articles/10.3389/ijph.2022.1604533

DOI=10.3389/ijph.2022.1604533

ISSN=1661-8564

ABSTRACT=Objectives: This study explores associations between trust in directives and compliance with physical distancing while comparing two populations in Israel.
Methods:  Following two lockdowns, we conducted two cross-sectional surveys among Arab minority and Jewish citizens of Israel (first survey, N=613; second survey, N=542). We conducted multivariable logistic regression analyses for the association between trust and compliance with physical distancing separately for each group in each survey.
Results:  Trust level was significantly lower among Arabs compared to Jewish respondents in both surveys (p<0.001). Arabs were less likely to report compliance with physical distancing (OR=0.51,95%CI 0.32–0.80 and OR=0.63 95% CI 0.42-0.94, respectively). Trusting the directives was an important determinant of compliance with physical distancing among Jews only, and only in the first survey.
Conclusions: Our findings indicate that momentum is important in building and maintaining public trust and compliance during pandemics. Low trust among Arabs should be of note to policymakers and warrants further research and interventions.

Keywords: COVID-19, Compliance, Trust in Information, Physical Distancing, Minorities