"Just be honest with us": A qualitative analysis of Canadians' public trust during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Résumé

OBJECTIVES: This qualitative study examines how trust has changed during and after the pandemic among our study participants. It reveals how they made meaning of trust in federal and provincial governments, scientific research, and digital platforms, and how this meaning-making process changed and was challenged by a global public health crisis.METHODS: We applied a descriptive phenomenological approach to semi-structured interviews that were conducted between July and November of 2024. In total, 41 interviews were conducted. Interview transcripts were analyzed using the descriptive phenomenological approach to understand participants' lived experiences of the pandemic, followed by how these lived experiences contributed to how they made meaning of public trust, both during and after the height of the pandemic. This analysis resulted in themes by giving attention to expressive language and past experiences, and ultimately revealing the "essence" or distinct nature of these participants' experiences of the pandemic.RESULTS: Research participants expressed polarized views on government trust, with provincial administrations often perceived as prioritizing economic or political interests over public health, while federal government were associated more with incompetence than with self-serving motives. Our participants experienced relatively stable trust in scientists, though they were concerned about transparency and profit-driven motives - particularly concerning the short time it took for vaccines to be developed. Social media was largely perceived as an unreliable source of information, yet it remained influential in shaping participants' perceptions, especially regarding vaccine hesitancy.CONCLUSIONS: We found that participants' public trust during the pandemic in Canada was highly dynamic and subjective, and was greatly informed by histories, lived experiences, and preconceptions about various institutions, such as the government, public health officials, and scientists. Changes in trust experienced by participants were anchored in experts' ability to communicate reliable information. Participants further emphasized the need for transparent and consistent messaging, particularly from the Government of Canada, to rebuild lost trust and prepare for future public health crises.