Trust by the numbers
What are the bright spots — and trouble areas — in America’s relationship with its care providers?
If you could put trust in a bottle, prescribing it would save millions of lives. Trusted providers can help people get more screenings, accept routine vaccines and take other measures that help keep them healthy — a finding that has held up after decades of research.
The uncertainty of the pandemic and online misinformation have recently eroded that trust. How big is the problem, and what can be done to get the relationship back on track?
Health Trends: Trust in Health Care Where Has Trust Gone?
Americans trust the health care system less now...
...as they mistrust many big institutions.3
69% Military
51% Police
44%
Health Care
System
39% Presidency
36%
Supreme
Court
Despite heroic levels of care, the pandemic shook that trust4:
Change in health care trust...
30%
Decreased
32%
53%
Remained steady
56%
17%
Increased
11%
Politicization of the pandemic and online misinformation were a few reasons for this lost trust.5
Among the public, race/ethnicity also plays a big role6…
Trust in health care
55% Black
57% Hispanic
62% White
...and so does income level.
Low 55%
Moderate 64%
High 71%
Trust is important because
People with higher trust are more likely7…
...to be
vacinated
…to have a
recent checkup
…and to agree
with public
health measures
How does trust get built?
Engagement builds trust. Low-income people who had a recent checkup were much more likely to trust the system.8
Trust also gets built by choosing the right ambassadors. Health care professionals are among the most trusted Americans9...
...and so is what they say.
People trust information from10:
76% my doctor
71%
health
experts
69% pharmacists
63%
friends
and family
62%
national health
authorities
And primary care remains a trusted part of the health care experience
78%
of people who trust their primary care physician, with that trust increasing with age and number of health issues11:
Ages 18-19
59%
Ages 30-44
74%
Ages 45-59
84%
Ages 66+
90%
For more information about the trust crisis in health care and what can be done about it, read the CVS Health Trends Report. CVSHealth.com/HealthTrends/Trust
1 https://www.aafp.org/fpm/1999/0600/p15.html
2 https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx
3 https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/confidence-institutions.aspx
4 https://www.norc.org/PDFs/ABIM%20Foundation/20210520_NORC_ABIM_Foundation_Trust%20in%20Healthcare_Part%201.pdf
5 https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2022-03/2022%20Trust%20Barometer%20Special%20Report%20Trust%20and%20Health_Mar10.pdf
6 https://www.edelman.com/trust/22/special-report-trust-in-health
7 https://www.edelman.com/trust/22/special-report-trust-in-health
8 https://www.edelman.com/trust/22/special-report-trust-in-health
9 National Health Project, Harris Poll and CVS Health
10 https://www.edelman.com/trust/22/special-report-trust-in-health
11 https://www.norc.org/PDFs/ABIM%20Foundation/20210520_NORC_ABIM_Foundation_Trust%20in%20Healthcare_Part%201.pdf
Health Trends:
Trust in Health Care
Summer
2022