"Social navigator" as a tool for overcoming institutional distrust

The article discusses the problem of decrease in efficiency of state demographic policy caused by high transaction costs in accessing social support measures and a communication gap between official government discourse and the everyday experiences of families. This work aims to theoretically justify and empirically verify the concept of overcoming institutional distrust in the management of reproductive behavior. The methodological basis of the study is synthesis of concepts of institutional trust, transaction costs, and social communication theory.

The article identifies and analyzes the key dysfunctions of institutional communication, including bureaucratic complexity, the symbolic nature of support measures, and the “freezing” of resources. Using empirical data, the researchers prove a direct correlation between the level of institutional trust or distrust and the reproductive intentions in the population. The authors developed and justified a model of a “social navigator” — a personalized digital platform designed to assist families, reduce transaction costs, and transform state — family interaction from a bureaucratic process into a partnership model. The practical importance of the study lies in the fact that a model of a “social navigator” can serve for designing digital family support services by state authorities, reducing bureaucratic barriers and increasing the level of institutional trust as a key factor in reproductive decision-making.

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