Beyond Data: The Dimension of Trust in Public Health

While at the information desk at the hospital and online health outreach, I came across a primary public health dilemma.

At the hospital information desk, I have calmed numerous anxious patients. In creating and publishing thyroid health content, I have read thousands of online comments. Most are confused. These two experiences point to the same paradox — why does an invisible wall continue to exist between authoritative medical information and the real needs of people?

I suspect the problem is a deliberate forgetting of trust, the vital force linking knowledge and action, in public health practice.

The Answer, Revealed Through Listening

The program work at "Beauty of minds" taught me that being there for someone and listening to them is more effective than a lecture. In other words, constant presence and familiar contact make support effective. My observation, while managing the thyroid health column for People’s Daily Health, was that members of the public need more than information supplied by an expert from an authoritative platform. They need to know the relevance to themselves and whether they can really trust the advice.

Information and guidelines can tell us what is “right” or “wrong”. But only trust based on empathy would help in bridging the gap between knowledge and action. It can help in translating something static into effective action.

Toward a Future Health Paradigm

Because of this, I convinced that public health will require an evolved paradigm in the future. It’s promising not only to have scientists, but “communicators” and “system designers” who are attuned to human nature and know how to build trust.

I want to be a bridge using science-based evidence and empathy to translate cold medical recommendations into visible

, trusted personal action in the community. Public health knowledge is how every decision in our lives can be taken into consideration on the last mile.

Ruoxi Chen, an aspiring public health practitioner.

Reach me at tracy8505@163.com or visit My Service page to learn more.