HEALTH professionals remain Australia's most highly regarded workers, but consumers' trust in pharmacists, doctors and nurses has waned during the COVID-19 pandemic research reveals.
Data from the Roy Morgan Image of Professions Survey 2021, reported that pharmacists were the third-ranked profession when it came to ethics and honesty, with 76% of respondents giving them a "high" or "very high" rating, down from 84% in 2017, when the last poll was taken.
Roy Morgan CEO, Michele Levine, noted that the nursing profession topped the poll for the 24th successive survey, with 88% of respondents backing the honesty of nurses (down from 94% in 2017), followed by doctors (82%) who saw consumers' faith in them fall by 7%.
"Nurses have been front and centre around the world during the last year as we've dealt with the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic," she said.
"Luckily for local nurses, Australia has dealt exceptionally well with the pandemic and we have largely avoided an out-of-control situation, although many Victorians would fairly argue we came close during the middle of 2020.
"Once again other professions entrusted with looking after our health are close behind with doctors on 82% and pharmacists on 76% filling out the second and third spots overall -- although all three leaders have declined from four years ago."
Pharmacists' 76% rating saw confidence in the profession dip to its lowest level since Australia's last recession in 1991.
While the majority of professions saw public confidence in them dip, union leaders saw a 2% increase in consumers' faith in their ethics and honesty, up to 19%, with pubic servants, Federal and State politicans' rating fell to 7%.
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