Fostering Trust in Public Health Messaging: Tailoring Communication for Rural Parents

As pandemic-related mistrust of public health recommendations in rural communities may compound gaps in pediatric immunizations, our team explored parents' perceptions of trustworthiness in messaging.

Qualitative study using 4 virtual focus groups.

Rural Wisconsin.

Participants (n = 25) were parents or guardians of children recruited through our contacts with community-based organizations serving rural communities.

Researchers used task-oriented elicitation techniques to initiate discussion on the trustworthiness of messengers and messages providing health recommendations. Participants were asked to (1) review existing public health messaging on a range of topics and from a range of sponsors; and (2) rank a list of potential messengers in terms of trustworthiness (eg, local health department, Centers for Disease Control). Discussions were recorded, and audio files transcribed, to facilitate a team-based, thematic analysis.

Competency in medical knowledge and parenting experience contributed to estimations of trustworthiness. Participants also responded well to messages and messengers that were able to project recognition of their children's uniqueness and their experience as parents. Participants distrusted messengers who were seen as biased or "one-sided" in their perspectives.

For successful health promotion for rural-living parents, messengers must be recognized as "competent" to provide pediatric health advice and to avoid blanket recommendations that may undermine parents' experience and feelings of being "understood" and affect perceptions of trustworthiness.