ABSTRACT
During infectious disease outbreaks, governments issue various public directives to curb disease spread. Disease containment measures sometimes include strong behavioural restrictions. Compliance with these public health restrictions depends on people’s trust in government. This chapter applies statistical analysis to study the impact of the SARS outbreak on the levels of public trust in government in Asia. The analysis shows that the 2003 SARS outbreak reduced people’s trust in government in Asian countries. It also indicates that this loss was mitigated when there was collaboration between the government and the World Health Organization (WHO). This finding suggests that a collaborative relationship with international organizations such as the WHO encourages the public to comply with restrictive measures implemented by governments.
