A third of UK public ‘tolerant’ of petty corruption
Up to 34% considered acts like nepotism or bribery acceptable during vaccine rollout
A new study reveals that up to a third of the British public felt petty corruption would have been acceptable in order to get early access to jabs during the UK’s Covid-19 vaccination rollout.
Led by Anglia Ruskin University and published in the journal Social Science and Medicine, the study surveyed 1,598 individuals across the UK, analysing public attitudes towards petty corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic. The data was cross-referenced with Government statistics on the implementation speed of the vaccine rollout.
Although there is little data about actual levels of petty corruption during the time of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout, researchers tested the willingness of the British public to tolerate hypothetical corruptive practices such as nepotism or offering money or gifts in order to gain early access to a vaccine dose.
Researchers found that 28% of participants said they would find it acceptable to bribe healthcare staff for early access to the Covid-19 vaccine, 27% believed offering presents was appropriate, and 34% saw no issue with leveraging personal relationships to receive the vaccine ahead of eligibility.
Additionally, the study discovered an association between public tolerance of petty corruption and vaccine rollout speed. Members of the public were vaccinated at a slower rate in the local authority areas where the researchers found a higher tolerance towards this kind of corruption.
The tolerance rates in this new study are notably higher than those reported in previous research into corruptive behaviour in European healthcare settings. For example, a 2011 study carried out in Sweden found only 12% of survey participants tolerated private doctors allowing queue-jumping for a friend or relative.
Lead author Dr Franziska Sohns, Associate Professor in Economic Geography at Anglia Ruskin University (ARU), said: “Instances of corruption during vaccine rollouts are beginning to emerge from across the world, but petty corruption – small-scale acts of corruption such as money and favours used to bypass bureaucracy – remains difficult to detect, as people are unlikely to admit to it and there are no systematic mechanisms in place to monitor it.
“Anecdotally, we encountered some examples of petty corruption in the UK – such as volunteers opening an extra vial of vaccine and offering doses to family members, or pharmacists vaccinating friends slightly before they were eligible so they could obtain a vaccine certificate in time for their holidays.
“While there is no suggestion these sorts of behaviours were widespread in the UK, our study tested public attitudes towards them, and we found relatively high levels of tolerance among the UK public during the vaccination rollout.
“As the UK reviews its pandemic response, our research underscores the importance of monitoring that healthcare resource allocation is not only efficient but is also implemented in a fair and transparent manner.”
The full study can be read here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953624006336
Journal
Social Science & Medicine
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
The effect of public tolerance towards corruptive behaviour on healthcare efficiency and equity – The case of the UK's COVID-19 vaccination programme
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