Americans' confidence in personal health care providers stays high, survey shows

Americans continue to express strong confidence in their health‑care providers, a finding that emerged from a longitudinal, nationally representative survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center (APPC) of the University of Pennsylvania. The study tracked respondents from April 2021 through August 2026, capturing attitudes across five years of significant health‑policy changes and the ongoing COVID‑19 pandemic.

The APPC survey, which sampled thousands of adults across all states, consistently reported high levels of trust in physicians, nurses, and other health‑care professionals. While the data set did not show a statistically significant decline in confidence during the study period, it did reveal subtle shifts in specific subgroups, such as younger adults and those living in rural areas, who reported slightly lower trust scores compared with older, urban respondents. The researchers emphasized that the overall trend remained positive, suggesting that despite disruptions to health‑care delivery, the public’s faith in medical providers has largely persisted.

These findings underscore the resilience of patient‑provider relationships amid evolving health‑care landscapes. Policymakers and health‑care organizations can use the longitudinal evidence to guide strategies that maintain and strengthen public confidence, particularly in communities where trust has eroded. The APPC’s ongoing monitoring will continue to inform efforts to ensure that health‑care delivery remains both accessible and trusted across the United States.