Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Dec;15(4):245-259.
doi: 10.1080/17538068.2022.2121199. Epub 2022 Oct 10.

The science of trust: future directions, research gaps, and implications for health and risk communication

Affiliations

The science of trust: future directions, research gaps, and implications for health and risk communication

Renata Schiavo (Moderator and Roundtable Chair/Organizer) et al. J Commun Healthc. 2022 Dec.

Abstract

'Trust is among the most important factors in human life, as it pervades' all domains of society [1] and related decision-making processes. This includes people's trust in science, and in clinical and public health solutions. Unequivocally, community and patient trust are foundational to the adoption and maintenance of health-related behaviors, social norms, and policies. Yet, trust has to be earned and developed over time and through multiple interactions. Trust is about dialogue and human connection. It's about listening and knowing that one interaction will not be enough to build trust. It is also influenced by a variety of social, economic, cultural, and political factors, past experiences, and the history of specific communities and patient groups. It should be at the core of the health and social systems with which people interact. More recently, trust in evidence-based information has also been affected by misinformation, not only on social media but also in a variety of community, institutional, and patient settings. Ultimately, we are in the midst of a global trust crisis that precedes the COVID-19 pandemic and is often rooted in the health, racial, and social inequities many groups experience [2].

Keywords: Science of trust; global health; health communication; health equity; healthcare; medicine; public health; risk communication; social and behavior change; trust.

PubMed Disclaimer

LinkOut - more resources