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New Zealand; International
Expert Reaction
These comments have been collated by the Science Media Centre to provide a variety of expert perspectives on this issue. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. Views expressed are the personal opinions of the experts named. They do not represent the views of the SMC or any other organisation unless specifically stated.
Dr John Kerr, Senior Research Fellow in the Department of Public Health, University of Otago, Wellington
"This new systematic review pulls together many studies to draw some broad conclusions about why we see division over health topics like Covid-19 and vaccination. It gives a ‘zoomed-out’ view of what we can say based on the research to date.
"The authors identified six key areas playing a role in people’s health opinions and behaviours: political ideology, misinformation, social media, trust in institutions, risk perceptions, and socioeconomic factors (like income and education).
"As you can imagine, these six factors are not separate drivers of health beliefs and attitudes. They are tangled together in a messy web of personal beliefs and information that can ultimately pull people in one direction or another when it comes to decisions about health.
"In the research covered in this review, political attitudes had received the most attention, indicating they play an important role. However, this is largely driven by studies from the United States, where there is a much sharper political division over many issues. Part of this is to do with the deeper values and beliefs that lead people to identify as more Republican or Democrat, but it also has a lot to do with what political leaders say on these health issues. For example, during the pandemic there was a lot of partisan division among politicians over the risk posed by the virus and how to respond.
"In Aotearoa New Zealand, politics also played a role, but it was far less prominent. Generally, we saw New Zealanders across the political spectrum supporting the Covid-19 response, especially in the initial stages of the pandemic.
"One issue that deserves more attention here is the impact of misinformation, that is, false or misleading information about health topics. Aotearoa, as a signatory to the International Health Regulations, is committed to building capacity to address misinformation. However, over the last couple of years, we have seen the closure of several organisations focused on tracking and responding to misinformation. This leaves us more vulnerable to deliberately or unintentionally shared health misinformation, which can ultimately undermine the health and wellbeing of Kiwis."
