Public confidence in the reliability of health and science organizations in the United States has plummeted since 1968 Wharton graduate and President Donald Trump began his second presidential term, according to a new survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center.
The survey, which collected a nationally representative sample of over a thousand U.S. adults in August, concluded that trustworthiness in such organizations has fallen across the board. Annenberg used SSRS, an independent market research company, to administer the survey — the group’s 25th interaction with the Annenberg National Survey of Attitudes on Public Health.
Respondents were asked how confident they are in prominent federal agencies “providing the public with trustworthy information about matters concerning public health” and “about matters concerning the effects of climate change on public health.”
The survey found that 39% of the respondents expressed confidence in Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and that he is providing them with trustworthy information on public health matters.
Survey results demonstrate an overall decline in confidence in agencies that APPC Director Kathleen Jamieson has called “custodians of knowledge.” This includes institutions such as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.
“Although confidence in these agencies remains comparatively high, any drop in confidence, whether warranted or not—during a time when individuals need to make consequential health decisions—is worrisome,” Jamieson said.
Sixty-four percent of survey respondents conveyed confidence in the CDC, an 8% decrease from the year prior under then-President Joe Biden. In the same time frame, confidence in the NIH dropped 12 points from 74% to 62% and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration from 73% to 63%.
Over the past two years, APPC’s surveys have found that confidence among Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents in the trustworthiness of these institutions on public health matters has declined since Trump returned to office.
“Although the decline in confidence in the CDC, NIH and FDA is being driven by disaffection by Democrats who regarded these agencies more highly when a Democratic president controlled the executive branch, it is important to note that they continue to have significantly higher levels of confidence than Republicans,” Jamieson wrote in an email to The Washington Times.
