Correia T. Trust Building in Public Health Approaches: The Importance of a "People-Centered" Concept in Crisis Response.
Risk Manag Healthc Policy 2024;
17:1903-1908. [PMID:
39104746 PMCID:
PMC11299718 DOI:
10.2147/rmhp.s471250]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 07/19/2024] [Indexed: 08/07/2024] Open
Abstract
Purpose
To argue for trust-building as a key solution for responding to public health crises in the face of political ambiguity in international health governance.
Patients and Methods
This perspective piece reviews fundamental concepts and discusses future directions using secondary data from open-access sources.
Results
The promise of learning from Covid-19 and previous public health crises, along with the growing recognition of a 'Health For All Policies' approach, clash with siloed preparations, management, and recovery plans for future emergency crises. Trust is proposed as a possible solution to overcome these limitations. It acts as a binding force that unites individuals within the community, fostering a sense of belonging and participation. Trust-building is viewed as a "People-Centered" approach in Crisis Response, aimed at creating active and resilient communities to foster preparation and readiness, respond to emergent risks, facilitate recovery, and mitigate risks. A remaining question is how to measure and identify the dimensions and determinants of trust in specific circumstances. Some ideas are systematized to highlight the pathway to build trust in public health approaches, including transparency, education, robust and equitable health systems, strengthened social capital, stakeholders' engagement, and health workforce training.
Conclusion
Trust in public health approaches can be fostered through consistent delivery of quality care, a clear, shared vision, and values underpinned by ethical standards. It requires a commitment to stakeholder well-being, including staff, and the integration of reliability, integrity, and transparency into policies, strategies, and practices. Exemplary leadership, openness in resource utilization, addressing waste or corruption, and effective communication of these principles are essential.
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