The Curse of Ignorance: Explaining Chinese Citizens’ Hostility toward Doctors

• In Event: Global Health Politics in the Global South

Abstract

The last few years have witnessed a surge in patients' violence against doctors in China, which is contrary to the general cases in other countries where doctors are highly respected and where violence targets more disadvantaged groups. What explains patients’ hostility toward the doctors? We put forward three competing factors that possibly influence Chinese citizens' attitude toward doctors, namely personality, knowledge, and contact. As authoritarian personality may make people more submissive to medical authority, science and medical knowledge (or the lack thereof) is likely to render them defiant, whereas contact theory highlights the importance of in-person contact on people's altitude and trust. To test these hypotheses, we built on existing scale design on healthcare-related attitude and carried out an original survey in Beijing. We find that the lack of science and medical knowledge or in-person contact with doctors have significant negative effects on Chinese citizens’ attitude towards doctors. In-depth case studies and interviews with patients help us elucidate the mechanisms. Our study represents the first systematic effort that probes into Chinese citizens' trust and violence tolerance in doctors. As doctors are often regarded as street bureaucrats in China, our findings have important implications in understanding state-society relationship and the changing dynamics of citizens’ trust toward state authorities.

Authors

• Xiao Ma, Peking University

• Xiaoxi Wu, Peking University

• Yifan Zhang