Survey: Trust in FDA varies by group
A new national survey reveals that trust in the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) varies by based on gender, community type, and political orientation. Women, individuals living in rural communities, and those holding conservative political views, were most likely to report mistrust in the agency.“Getting the communication right is not easy, but I think it’s important for the FDA to develop and test outreach strategies and track public opinion. Trust in the FDA is key for adherence to medical treatment recommendations and public health more broadly,” William Feldman, a faculty member with the Program on Regulation, Therapeutics, And Law (PORTAL) at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and one the study authors, told Regulatory Focus.
The survey was conducted in October 2022 and was completed by 2,021 respondents aged 18-79 years. The findings were published in Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics on 16 May 2024.
Survey respondents were asked to rank FDA on performance in four areas: competence and effectiveness; commitment to acting in the best interests of the American public; abiding by rules and regulations; and expertise in health, science and medicine. The researchers repeated the same trust assessment for the Office of the US President, the US Congress, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the US National Institutes of Health, scientists, pharmaceutical companies, patient advocacy groups and doctors.
The overall mean score for trust in the FDA was 2.87 on a 4-point scale. When the researchers looked separately at the four domains of trust in the FDA, they found the higher trust scores for agency’s expertise in health, science and medicine at 3.06 out of 4. The agency scored lower for competency (2.78), acting in the best interest of the public (2.79), and abiding by its own regulations (2.82).
On the overall measure, FDA scored lower on trust than physicians and scientists. However, the agency ranked higher than the Office of the President, Congress and the pharmaceutical industry.
Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that mistrust in the FDA was linked to female gender, living in a rural community, conservative political views, worse self-reported health, lower satisfaction with health care, paying less attention to news on health and science, and not having children under age 18.
The findings demonstrate the challenge of earning trust among the American public, which encompasses diverse backgrounds and political views. To improve trust, the researchers suggested that FDA work on targeted communication to certain groups as well as address concerns about the standards for drug approvals and the role of industry in controversial approval decisions.
“I think it is important for the FDA to always continue striving to become a more trustworthy institution. This means ensuring transparency in decision-making, maintaining high standards for approval, minimizing biases, and so forth. But targeted messaging aimed at the least trusting groups could help strengthen confidence in the agency,” Feldman said. “Further research is needed to understand which types of messaging and messengers would be most impactful for building trust in the agency, particularly among the least trusting groups. But I see both goals as vital for the FDA—continually seeking to strengthen internal processes to become more trustworthy and developing initiatives to further articulate why the agency should be trusted.”
Previously, Feldman and other PORTAL researchers published an article suggesting ways for FDA to increase trustworthiness, including adopting consistent rules and keeping decisions free of political interference (RELATED: New report offers roadmap for FDA to rebuild public trust, Regulatory Focus 20 November 2023).
The study was funded by the Greenwall Foundation Making a Difference grant program. Outside of the scope of this study, Dr. Feldman and other coauthors reported working as investigators on grants from the FDA.
Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics article
×
Welcome to the new RAPS Digital Experience
We have completed our migration to a new platform and are pleased to introduce the updated site.
What to expect: If you have an existing login, please RESET YOUR PASSWORD before signing in. After you log in for the first time, you will be prompted to confirm your profile preferences, which will be used to personalize content.
We encourage you to explore the new website and visit your updated My RAPS page. If you need assistance, please review our FAQ page.
We welcome your feedback. Please let us know how we can continue to improve your experience.