Trust in public health institutions is eroding. What can officials do?

NPR's Ayesha Rascoe discusses America's declining trust in public health officials with Marianne Udow-Phillips, a lecturer at the School of Public Health at the University of Michigan.

The top 3

  1. Three Major Disease Outbreaks That Impacted Public Trust: The COVID-19 pandemic led to a substantial 31.4 percentage point decrease in trust in physicians and hospital systems between April 2020 and January 2024, while the 1918 Spanish Flu and the HIV/AIDS epidemic also profoundly affected public confidence and governance of health responses.
  2. Landmark Medical Breakthroughs That Boosted Public Confidence: The development of the polio vaccine in the mid-20th century, the global eradication of smallpox, and advances in general vaccine technology have historically been pivotal in building public trust in public health interventions.
  3. Major Ethical Controversies That Eroded Public Trust: Ethical controversies, such as those related to 'big pharma,' the opioid crisis, and the retraction of scientific papers, along with inconsistent or conflicting health recommendations, have significantly contributed to the erosion of public trust in medical and public health institutions.

Sources

Open the full topic