Edelman research shows that patients’ confidence in their ability to find answers to health questions and make informed decisions has plummeted over the past year.
Edelman, a public relations and marketing consultancy, has tracked public trust in aspects of health care through a series of surveys. From 2022 to 2025, the proportion of people globally who are confident in their ability to find answers to health questions and make informed decisions remained stable, reaching 61% in three of those years, but only dropping to 59% in other years.
In 2026, the result dropped 10 points to 51%. The decline reflects global changes, with 14 of 16 markets experiencing statistically significant declines, Edelman said. The United States and France saw the biggest changes, with a 14 percentage point drop, but countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe also saw declines. Edelman saw a decline in confidence that did not meet statistical significance in the UAE and China.
The consultancy said the trend shows increasing uncertainty when navigating health information. Trust in the media has yet to return to pre-COVID-19 levels, with trust in healthcare CEOs dropping 7 percentage points over the past year to 44%.
Some people are turning to artificial intelligence to stay informed, with 35% of respondents saying they use it to manage their health. Of those surveyed, 78% said they use AI to get treatment recommendations. Almost two-thirds of respondents said that someone familiar with AI but without formal medical training could compete with a doctor for at least one or more medical tasks.
Edelman also cited views on six “polarizing” health beliefs, including the idea that the risks of childhood vaccinations outweigh the benefits and the idea that taking acetaminophen during pregnancy causes autism. The survey found that 70% of respondents believed at least one of the six claims, but the rate of believing any one claim ranged from 25% to 32%.
The United States had the third lowest rate of believing at least one claim, at 61%. Belief in this claim was most widespread in India and South Africa, where 89% and 88% of people, respectively, said at least one idea was true.
The findings illustrate the challenges facing biopharmaceutical marketing teams, particularly those working in controversial areas such as vaccines. Respondents’ deep-rooted trust in their doctors, which 80% of respondents trust, represents one means of providing health information to patients. However, this model has limitations, as most people with three or more conflicting beliefs say they have ignored medical guidance in the past year in favor of advice from friends, family and social media.
