How to be transparent so we are trusted without having to say “trust us.”
This piece was co-written by Dr Salma Abdalla and is also cross-posted here.
It is in relationships where trust is strongest that it is often most unspoken. We generally do not spend our days saying “trust me” to our spouse, to our children, to friends who have known us for a long time. Trust is implicit, understood, tested over years of relying, and being relied on. It is simply a fact of these relationships, something we take for granted. If we find ourselves having to say, “trust me,” it is likely something has gone wrong.
For a long time, public health enjoyed the kind of trust that does not have to say, “trust me,” in which the public understood it could trust what we say and do without having to be reassured of our honesty. Public health institutions had credibility because they were seen as broadly nonpartisan, guided by scientific rigor, towards the goal of keeping populations safe.
Just think back to movies, like 1995’s Outbreak or the 2011 film Contagion, in which public health officials are portrayed as competent, data-driven professionals, the heroes of the story. What is striking about these portrayals is how unmarkable they seem. There is a sense in these films that of course public health officials would be portrayed this way because of course this is how they conduct themselves—as sober professionals, trustworthy in pursuit of their mission.
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