You Have A Trust Problem | A Brave New

It may seem bold to make a blanket statement like “you have a trust problem.”

It is bold, but if you’re in healthcare today, it’s true. Regardless of whether your focus is in healthtech, employee health & wellness, care delivery, or in some other area, you have a trust problem.

It doesn’t matter where you’re starting this year. Perhaps you’re set up to experience spectacular growth. Perhaps your culture is the best it’s ever been. You may even be more confident in your product than ever. You still have a trust problem.

Why? Because this isn’t a problem in your organization. Your trust problem exists because people are struggling to make sense of a less stable world.

In fact, this trust problem has accelerated to such an extent that the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer calls it a crisis of grievance. If you’re not familiar with the Trust Barometer, it is an annual survey completed by Edelman with over 33,000 respondents from 28 countries. In my world, it is one of the authoritative sources out there when it comes to opinions about trust. 

Today’s post is all about the Trust Barometer. I have a three specific goals:

Highlight some of the most salient insights from the Trust Barometer so that you’re equipped with a solid understanding of what’s happening in the market. (I would argue that it’s also happening in the B2B market.)

Identify some of the unique challenges that flow out of the crisis of grievance for healthcare companies (especially in the areas of healthcare tech, employee health & wellness, and hospitals and healthcare providers where we primarily work)

Discuss actions healthcare brands can take to build trust with customers, buyers, and patients in the midst of this environment.

Let’s dive in.

Key findings in the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer

As always, this year’s report was full of all sorts of findings. I think there are six findings that are especially relevant to healthcare organizations. We’ll take a look at each of them in order.

Trust is a minority position
Core to the assertion of this post is the overall finding of the report. In the United States, only 47% of the general population trust in business, government, the media, and non-profits. Out of the gate, this means that a majority of people are starting from a place of mistrust.

Lies are the assumed default for two-thirds of the population
Building on this lack of trust is a statistically significant rise in the percentage of people who believe that leaders lie to us. Specifically relevant to our work, there has been a significant rise since 2021 when only 56% of respondents believed that business leaders “purposely mislead people.” In 2025, that number stands at 68%.

Hostile activism is more and more acceptable
This lack of trust and assumption of dishonesty has led to an environment where aggressive activism is more and more acceptable. An alarming 40% of respondents agreed with the statement “I approve of hostile activism to drive change.” This stat is even more concerning when we find that a full 23% believe that threatening or committing violence is justified. Things are not going well.

Optimism deficit & zero sum games
If you hadn’t guessed it from the first three points, there is a significant lack of optimism in the air. Only 30% of people in the United States believe the next generation will be better off than the current one. There’s also an increasing portion of the population that believes everyone winning simply isn’t possible.

Suspicions of artificial intelligence (AI) are growing
Trust of AI is also low amongst those feeling a sense of grievance. In fact, among those who have a high grievance level, only 34% trust AI. Even less (29%) trust its use by businesses. Clearly, we all have a significant amount of work to do as we integrate AI into our business to make sure our customers trust it.

Businesses remain the most trusted entities, except among respondents with a high grievance level
In a bit of good news, businesses remain the only trusted entities that are considered both competent and ethical by respondents overall. The same can’t be said for the government, the media, or non-profits. These findings no longer hold with businesses considered unethical and incompetent by those with a high grievance level.

Findings are similar for CEOs and other business leaders. A total of 64% of respondents with a low grievance level generally trust CEOs. For those with a high grievance level, that number drops to 30%.

What should healthcare brands make of these findings?

Ok, now that we’ve taken a brief look at the finds, let’s discuss what healthcare brands should take away from them—and what unique challenges they face.

Trust can no longer be assumed
The biggest takeaway from this report for healthcare brands is that it’s time to put in the hard work. Trust is no longer assumed. It is no longer given. It must be earned. This may have always been the case, but the Trust Barometer is a good reminder not to take it for granted, even if you work in healthcare technology and do not deal with frontline patients.

Healthcare providers have significant work to do to build trust with patients
For those who work for a hospital, health system, or healthcare provider, there’s more work to do than ever before. This is especially true as proven facts, like the efficacy of vaccines, are now questioned in the mainstream. Patients must be brought along during their care journey to ensure that the necessary trust exists in the patient-provider relationship so that patients will follow through on their prescribed care plans.

We must do work to ensure that healthtech driven by AI clearly articulates its values and the guardrails that exist
An increased sense of mistrust and grievance has led to a decreased trust in the positive outcomes of AI. We know that there are a multitude of ways that AI can positively impact healthcare, and AI is a primary driver in the healthcare technology space. But, in order to build trust in these solutions, we must clearly articulate the specific and unique value an AI solution provides and how we are guarding against negative outcomes.

An authentic brand is a must, not just a flashy marketing game
Healthcare brands cannot afford to simply run flashy marketing campaigns or show up in the market with a brand that doesn’t match the experience they provide. People will see through this. Authenticity is key.

If they can show up with authenticity, healthcare brands have an opportunity to build trust
The good news is, businesses are the most trustworthy entities in the United States today. If you can show up with authenticity, you have an opportunity to build trust and a loyal following. 

How healthcare brands can build trust

So, how do healthcare brands start building trust? I have five recommendations.

• Showcase and champion shared values with your customers and with patients
  Many of the challenges that our society faces currently are driven by the fact that finding commonality between groups of people is increasingly difficult. This, combined with an inherent distrust of the American healthcare system, means that work needs to be done to find and highlight shared values that can be emphasized in order to begin to rebuild connections and trust.
• Create opportunities for optimism backed by real data
  We live in a world dominated by a 24/7 news cycle and what seems to be a constant flow of bad news. As brands, we should be looking for opportunities—in our work and the associated spheres of healthcare that we work in—for optimism and good news. Sharing these can build a different narrative that counteracts the generally negative news cycle.
  As you pursue this approach, there are some words of caution to think about. First, make sure that you do not deny the challenges that all of us face and the negative news cycle that we live in. Doing that would alienate your audience. In addition, make sure there is real data to back up your sources of optimism. 
• Act boldly on behalf of patients … and show your work
  Whether you’re a front-line healthcare provider or a healthtech startup that supports some aspect of the healthcare community, it’s essential to show the impact that your work has on real people. 
  
  Healthcare is one of the spaces where the inherent mistrust of brands is the highest. There is an impression that the healthcare system doesn’t work for real people. In reality, I believe that most people are working hard to improve health outcomes and help their patients live better lives. But the fact remains that we need to show this to people and tell them how we’re doing that work. The brands that can create the link between their solutions and the impact they have on patients will win in this atmosphere.
• Look for opportunities to work together with others
  Collaboration creates a sense of togetherness and hope. B2B buyers, patients, and consumers in general want to see brands collaborating together for the common good. Identify those areas where a collaboration with another brand (whether it be another business, a non-profit, or a government entity) can be a force multiplier for helping people live healthier and fuller lives.
• Focus on authenticity in your brand above all else
  We’ve all seen it. The company that treats their brand like a marketing campaign vs. the DNA of the organization. We have to make sure our brands are like DNA. They need to impact every aspect of the company’s work. Only by ensuring brand alignment between marketing, service design, service delivery, people management, etc. will you be able to demonstrate that your brand is authentic and to be believed. Many people are expecting dishonesty today, so it’s each brand’s responsibility to do this hard work.

What will you do with the findings from the Trust Barometer?

I hope you’ve found my takeaways from this year’s Edelman Trust Barometer to be helpful. But I also hope that you won’t stop with reading my blog post. I encourage you to share this insightful survey with your team and have discussions about how it will impact your work. After all, our success as brands depends on our ability to understand movements in the market and respond to them. 

How will you respond? What will you do to build trust in the coming months?