Trust in Science and Medicine? P8
Fall 2025
Photo / Image Source: Unsplash,
Surveys of shifting U.S. attitudes reveal concerning trends — and some surprises
Regarding that first answer — people’s loss of trust because of something specific — it is really on the entire medical community to think about how we handle it when we make mistakes or when we have a bad outcome. The second answer — that doctors have ulterior motives — is in many ways more complicated. Why is it that so many people believe that doctors are motivated by something other than concern for the patient? There are a lot of possible reasons that have nothing to do with the pandemic. I suspect a lot of it has to do with the fact that now it’s not me and the patient in the room; it’s me and the patient and the insurance company. Patients perceive that.
I wish there were straightforward answers, because it would be much easier for us to address the problem of trust, but this is a case that really defies a simple black-and-white answer. I think it has to do with a lot of juxtaposed changes over time. I would add that one of the interesting things I’ve noted in our studies, and also anecdotally, is that a lot of people say, “Well, I don’t like doctors, but I like my doctor.”
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