Nurses the most trusted professionals, survey finds

Nurses the most trusted professionals, survey finds

 

Substantial increase in trust for Government Ministers, Ipsos MRBI poll shows

 

Healthcare professionals are the most trusted workers in the State, with nurses having the highest levels of trust among the public, according to research from Ipsos MRBI.

 

The Veracity Index 2020 from the polling company found 97 percent of people trusted nurses, 96 percent trusted pharmacists and 95 percent trusted doctors.

 

Respondents were for the first time asked their level of trust in the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet), which advises the Government on its Coronavirus strategy, and 91 percent said they trusted the organisation to tell the truth.

 

Politicians have seen a substantial increase in the level of trust they enjoy since the survey was previously done in December 2018 – up 10 percentage points to 32 percent, slightly ahead of estate agents on 30 percent.

 

However, senior politicians have seen an even greater jump in public confidence levels, with 47 percent expressing trust in Ministers, up 20 points since 2018 and the highest increase in the survey.

 

EU leaders are higher still at 58 percent, up 15 points. Local councillors previously enjoyed higher levels of trust than Ministers but have now slipped slightly behind to 46 percent, although this still represents an increase of five points since 2018.

 

Respondents had more trust in the “ordinary person in the street” than Ministers or councillors, at 54 percent, but this level of trust has slipped by seven points.

 

Gardaí have also seen a significant boost in the survey of 1,000 Irish adults that was conducted from May 14th-24th, with 82 percent finding them trustworthy, an increase of nine points. This puts them just behind weather forecasters who were trusted by 83 percent of those surveyed.

 

Respondents expressed a strong belief that television newsreaders were truthful with 77 per cent saying they trusted them, but far fewer trusted journalists in general with just 42 percent saying they were trustworthy.

Of the 27 professions selected, teachers, scientists, and judges all made it into the top ten most trusted.

 

Advertising executives were the second least trusted on 17 percent, but respondents’ expectations of social media influencers were the lowest of all with just 8 per cent trusting them to tell the truth.

 

Courtesy: The Irish Times
Wed, Jun 10, 2020, 12:20
Olivia Kelly Dublin Editor