Research

Trust, the police and gender: London, you have a problem with women

Following a series of high-profile incidents of violence against women by serving London Metropolitan Police Officers, questions of standards and the public’s confidence in policing are in the spotlight. We find that women in England are more trusting in the police than men. But not in London. London is the only area in England where women’s overall trust in the police is lower than men, even when we control for age, income, political environment and crime levels.

• Pickering, S. D., & Dorussen, H., & Hansen, M. E., & Reifler, J., & Scotto, T., & Sunahara, Y., & Yen, D. (2024). London, you have a problem with women: Trust towards the police in England. Policing & Society, x(x), x-x. In press.

Trust, religion and vaccination: The role of religion and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in England

Existing research has found a link between religious beliefs and vaccine hesitancy. This analysis used data from a survey of over 12,000 respondents in England and finds that respondents who identify as being part of the Church of England or Methodist denominations have had significantly more COVID-19 vaccinations. However, Pentecostal and Muslim respondents have had significantly fewer COVID-19 vaccinations.

Clearly, public health bodies need to engage with religious leaders. Communication strategies need to be tailored to specific religious groups. Trust plays a key factor, so we need to ensure that religious groups are able to trust healthcare institutes.

• Hansen, M. E., & Pickering, S. D. (2024). The role of religion and COVID-19 vaccine uptake in England. Vaccine (42)13: 3215-3219.

Trust, doctors, nurses and strikes

How much do the public support striking nurses and junior doctors? It turns out people are generally more supportive of these healthcare workers striking than other professionals like postal workers or teachers. Support levels vary by political affiliation, ideology, and trust in the NHS, with non-Conservative, left-leaning individuals, and those with high trust in the NHS more likely to back the strikes. These findings suggest strategic directions for increasing public support for healthcare workers' strikes.

• Hansen, M. E., & Pickering, S. D. (2024). From Plaster Casts to Picket Lines: Public Support for Industrial Action in the National Health Service in England. Nursing Inquiry, x(x), x-x. In press.

Trust and waiting for health-care

Waiting times for healthcare in the UK are at an all time high. Does this affect people's trust in the NHS? Our survey of 7,415 people suggests not. Even when waiting times in Accident and Emergency rooms are long, or when there is a long delay in referrals for cancer treatment, people still trust the NHS. However, members of ethnic minorities and people who voted for the Conservative Party do tend to trust the NHS less. If the NHS wants to build trust, then it needs to look to these two key groups.

• Dorussen, H., & Hansen, M. E., & Pickering, S. D., & Reifler, J., & Scotto, T., & Sunahara, Y., & Yen, D. (2024). The Influence of Waiting Times and Sociopolitical Variables on Public Trust in Healthcare: A Cross-Sectional Study of the NHS in England. Public Health in Practice, 7(100484), 1-7.

Trust and human poo

Humanity needs food, and to grow that food, we need fertilisers. But fertilisers present enormous environmental impact. Animal manure causes nitrate pollution in soil, groundwater and the atmosphere. Whereas artificial fertilisers account for 1-2 % of global energy consumption and 1.4% of global CO2 emissions.

Human Excretion Based Fertiliser (HEBF), or fertilisers based on human poo, may offer a solution. But we need to know how socially acceptable this solution is. Based on surveys in Japan and England, we find that the Japanese are more accepting of using HEBF for food production, with fewer health concerns, compared to the English. However, English respondents are more open to using HEBF in public parks. We also notice strong gender differences.

• Pickering, S., & Gökçe, Ö., & Hanna, D., & Knell, M., & Lee, D., & Scales, M., & Zeinalabidin, M. & Sunahara, Y., & Hansen, M. E. (2024). Public perceptions of human excretion-based fertiliser in England and Japan. Waste Management Bulletin (2)4: 11-20.

Trust and health data

Background/Aims
Public attitudes towards the NHS sharing health records vary significantly depending on who the information is shared with and how it is described. In a survey conducted across England, most people felt comfortable with the NHS sharing their personal health information with hospitals and GPs, particularly when the word 'information' was used instead of 'data'. However, over half of respondents objected to sharing records—even anonymised—with pharmaceutical companies for research, or with local councils. This suggests that people are more open to sharing their health records when they perceive a direct personal benefit, and interestingly, anonymisation alone does not necessarily reassure the public. These insights can help shape clearer and more effective public communication about health data sharing.

• Yen, D., & Dorussen, H., & Pickering, S., & Hansen, M. E., & Scotto, T., & Reifler, J. (2025). Public attitudes towards disclosing personal and anonymous health-related data and information. British Journal of Healthcare Management (31)1.