Pandemic's Impact: Decline in American Trust Towards Public Health Institutions

The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly diminished public confidence in key U.S. public health institutions, with recent research highlighting a significant decline from 2020 to 2024. A series of four cross-sectional surveys conducted on a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults revealed that trust in organizations such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) dropped from 82% reporting high confidence in February 2020 to a low of 56% in June 2022. Similar downward trends were observed in the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Health and Human Services, state health departments, and professional medical organizations, with confidence levels decreasing by 25%, 13%, 16%, and 26% respectively during this period.

Interestingly, while trust in public health entities waned, confidence in local health providers and physicians showed a nuanced pattern. Initially declining, trust in personal doctors increased by 5%, and confidence in local health departments rose by 19% between 2022 and 2024. Additionally, public confidence in the White House increased from 29% to 39% from early 2020 to late 2024.

The study underscores the importance of local and personal healthcare providers in restoring faith in public health, as their trusted status remains high among Americans. Experts suggest that reestablishing confidence in health institutions is crucial for effective public health responses moving forward.

This research, published in PLOS Global Public Health, emphasizes the need for continued efforts to rebuild trust in public health from the grassroots level, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. source: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-06-covid-pandemic-significantly-eroded-american.html