From the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to wildfires and floods, public health emergencies are becoming increasingly common and complex. Public trust in public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR) science is key to a quick and effective response. Join the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine for a two-day public workshop on March 29th and 30th to examine issues of building public knowledge of and trust in PHEPR science enterprise--the institutions, the research process, and the researchers and practitioners. Please submit any questions or ideas in the text box below for workshop speakers to consider ahead of the event!
Workshop Details
Day 1 - March 29, 2022, 10:00am - 3:00pm ET
Day 2 - March 30, 2022, 10:00am - 3:00pm ET
Workshop Engagement
There will be multiple opportunities for the public to engage in discussions with experts and provide input on this critical topic, including:
- A live Twitter event hosted by @theNASEM where the public can follow along and participate in the discussion through retweets and replies. The hashtag for the live event is #trustinpublichealth.
- A discussion section (below) where the public can proactively inform workshop discussions and panelist remarks by submitting questions and ideas leading up to the workshop.
- A virtual whiteboard where the public can reflect on workshop conversations and share actions they can take immediately to build public trust, what they can do in the next year, and what they can do in the next 5 years. The public will also be asked share thoughts on what gaps in knowledge and understanding remain about (re)building and maintaining public trust in PHEPR science.
Workshop Objectives
Workshop discussants and participants will collaboratively generate actionable strategies and approaches to (re)build and maintain trust across this continuum, across stakeholders, across levels of the system (federal, state, tribal, territorial, and local), and across emergency types. Workshop discussants and participants will specifically:
- Examine why the topic of public trust (and trustworthiness, credibility, confidence in, among others) is important in PHEPR science and develop a shared understanding of its importance and its relationship to other factors that contribute to social cohesion in public health emergencies.
- Explore key elements of PHEPR science communication and generate actionable communications strategies based on recent experiences.
- Generate actionable strategies and approaches for building/maintaining trust, communicating PHEPR science and the scientific process in the face of uncertainty and in response to the recent decline in perceived credibility of federal, state, and local agencies.
- Examine the ways in which diverse demographic groups experience PHEPR science differently and generate strategies and approaches for building trust in PHEPR science and the scientific process that is tailored to these varied experiences.
Workshop Planning Committee
Sandra Quinn, Ph.D., M.Ed. (Chair), University of Maryland
Dominique Brossard, Ph.D., University of Madison-Wisconsin
Esther Chernak, M.D., M.P.H., FACP, Drexel University
Kenny Hendrickson, Ph.D., University of the Virgin Islands
Hilary Karasz, Ph.D., M.A., Public Health - Seattle and King County
Jennifer Kiger, M.P.H., LSSBB, Harris County Public Health
Rachael Piltch-Loeb, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., Harvard University
Kai Ruggeri, Ph.D., Columbia University
Monica Schoch-Spana, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Cathy Slemp, M.D., M.P.H., Catherine C Slemp, LLC