Purple Public Health episode—Trust and population health with Erin O’Malley

How do public health institutions experiencing declining public trust go about becoming trustworthy again?

Erin O'Malley is the Executive Director of the Coalition for Trust in Health and Science, a coalition of more than 90 organizations working to enhance public trust in health and science. With nearly two decades of experience in health policy, advocacy, and cross-sectoral partnership, Erin leads an organization grappling daily with one of public health's most pressing and contemporary questions.

Erin joins Salma to discuss trends in trust in health and science in the United States—from the lasting impact of the Covid pandemic to the role of political polarization in eroding institutional trustworthiness—and what it actually takes to rebuild it. They discuss what the coalition has learned about the mechanics of trust-building across the health and science ecosystem, why community-level listening and interpersonal communication matter as much as institutional messaging, and how the language we use can impact public engagement and trustworthiness.

This episode will challenge how we talk about and classify information, explore the difference between being trusted and being trustworthy, and offer practical frameworks for how individuals, practitioners, and organizations can navigate an increasingly complex information landscape.

Useful resources:

1. Resources: Knowledge. Coalition for Trust in Health and Science. https://trustinhealthandscience.org/resources/category/knowledge/

Host: Dr. Salma Abdalla
Editors: Catalina Melendez Contreras
Marketing: Kinkini Bhaduri
Music: Eden Avery / Melting Glass from Epidemic Sound https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/2fqOXWpHab/

The views and opinions expressed by the guest in this episode do not necessarily reflect those of their institution, the funders, or the podcast team.