Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security launches new website to support public health professionals in building trust and addressing misleading rumors

July 17, 2024 – Today, the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security launched the Tackling Rumors and Understanding & Strengthening Trust (TRUST) in Public Health website, designed to support practitioners working to cultivate trust in public health by proactively addressing misleading rumors. Over the past 2 years, a team of Center experts conducted research, created resources and guidance, and developed the website.

Serving as a one-stop shop, the TRUST in Public Health website is organized into 4 sections:

1. About the Project: Learn more about the project, including the conceptual framework and recommendations.
2. Tackling Rumors: Explore rumors that appeared repeatedly during previous public health emergencies and approaches to address them.
3. Building Trust: Learn strategies for improving trust in public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR), including real-life examples from people on the front lines.
4. Tools and Resources: Discover new tools, resources, and guidance to proactively address rumors and misinformation, as well as understand and strengthen trust in public health.

“The website is designed to help practitioners and communicators tackle some of the most important issues we face today in public health preparedness—lack of trust and the spread of misleading information. We can’t expect people to agree to support public health actions if they don’t trust us, don’t know us, and are surrounded by messages that mislead them," said Tara Kirk Sell, PhD, MA, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, who led this work. “We are excited to present this suite of resources, informed by the experiences of more than 100 frontline workers, to help strengthen trust in public health,” she added.

The project was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the US Department of Health and Human Services. The contents, including references to non-US government sites on the Internet, are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor constitute or imply endorsement by, CDC/HHS or the US government.

Additional resources from the team:

• Checklist to build trust, improve public health communication, and anticipate misinformation during public health emergencies (PDF)
• Practical playbook for addressing health misinformation (PDF)

For inquiries related to the website, please contact Dr. Tara Kirk Sell at tksell@jhu.edu.
For media inquiries, please contact Cagla Giray at cgiray1@jhu.edu.