37 Public trust in healthcare systems in India

BackgroundTrust in healthcare institutions plays a major role in public health as it reflects patients’ compliance with the medical care system and better utilization of the resources available The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has surfaced the declining trust in both the public and private healthcare systems in India It warrants the need to understand why public trust in healthcare institutions is deteriorating Healthcare system in India has changed over the years It has brought in, the concepts of commercialization and new managerialism This has changed the relationships of providers and health managers which creates an impact on public trust in the healthcare system Indian public healthcare system is highly under-resourced and yet is the only resort for a major section of the society, especially the poor It is widely known to be inefficient in catering to the needs of the public The private healthcare system on the other hand has grown exponentially and has proved to be highly overprized AimTo draw a conceptualization of public trust in healthcare systems in the Indian context I will be referring to the model of Public Trust in Healthcare given by Felix Gille (2017) In this model, the public sphere, where public trust is shaped by the discourse of shared experiences and perceptions about the healthcare systems, has been centralized MethodsQualitative Systemic ReviewCurrent stage of work:Conceptual framework of the research has been completed and review of the articles is under progress Expected resultsPublic sphere is cardinal in shaping public trust in healthcare systems The process of consensus-building in the public sphere is constantly changing, making it dynamic The communication channels- active, passive and feedback, shaping the public sphere are temporal The internal changes in the healthcare systems also determine some aspects of trust