Deliberative dialogues on building trust for pandemic readiness
Researchers
Katrina Plamondon, Angeli Rawat, Rodrigo Curty Pereira
Key takeaways
- Vaccine sentiments reflect public trust, and are a socio-political issue requiring solutions beyond the health sector.
- Rebuild public trust by deepening understanding, communicating in more tailored and empathetic ways, better equipping public health systems, and engaging intentionally with diverse communities.
Overview
Trust cannot be built in the middle of a crisis. Public sentiments on mRNA vaccines changed dramatically over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, and continue to change today. The BRC supports a national series of deliberative dialogues focused on understanding and strengthening trust in vaccines and immune-based therapeutics before the next pandemic.
These dialogues bring together researchers, policymakers, health system leaders, health care practitioners, journalists, social media influencers, industry representatives, and people with lived experience for carefully facilitated conversations on trust, equity, and pandemic preparedness.
Participants explore how polarization, coercive policies, online hostility, and limited dialogue spaces have strained trust, and consider collaborative, relational approaches to strengthen public confidence and collective action.
Insights from these dialogues will feed into practical tools and guidance, such as communications practices and collaborative institutional guidelines that practitioners and institutions can apply directly to strengthen pandemic readiness.