Trust and Public Health

3 units

Trust and public health are inextricably linked. State actors are key participants in public and population health, organizing, among other things, mandates and guidelines that target health behaviors and encourage the uptake of health promotion and prevention policies, as well as screening, evaluation, and management of health conditions. Effective implementation of these efforts is conditional on the public’s belief that public health institutions and actors are trustworthy. This course focuses on understanding the principles and levels of trust as they relate to public health functions. The course features faculty studying trust and public health as part of the cluster supported by the Incubator for Transdisciplinary Futures. Students will not only engage with issues, policies, and data related to trust and public health but will also develop competency in research proposal development. Student learning will be assessed through participation, data exploration activities, policy briefs, and research proposals.