Trust in the Israeli Healthcare System Among Arabs, Jewish Immigrants, and Non-immigrants

Background: Previous studies have shown that minorities and immigrants have low levels of trust in healthcare systems (HCSys), which might present a barrier in access to and utilization of healthcare services. We compared the levels of trust in Israel’s HCSys among the Arab minority, immigrant Jews, and non-immigrant Jew sand draw on the integrative model of organizational trust to explore factors that can explain differences in the trust level within and between the study groups. Method: We obtained cross-sectional census data from the 2017 Social Survey of the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics. We studied levels of trust based on a survey question: “Do you have trust in the HCSys?” We used logistic regression models to compare levels of trust in HCSys among the study groups, adjusting for components of the integrative model: characteristics (sex, age, education, religiosity, and healthcare service use), abilities (private health insurance ownership), integrity (discrimination, trusting the justice system and government), and perceived risk (self-reported health). Results: Our findings revealed that Arabs (odds ratio (OR) = 4.20, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 4.17, 4.23) and immigrant Jews (OR = 2.54, 95% CI = 2.51, 2.58) had more trust in the HCSys compared to non-immigrant Jews, even after adjusting for all the component variables. Different components of the integrative model explained trust in each population group. Conclusion: Minority and immigrant groups had greater trust in the HCSys compared to the non-immigrant group. These findings may indicate different expectations with respect to patient–caregiver relations and HCSys utilization and raise questions regarding access to HCS and quality of care among minority and immigrant groups.