In health today, expertise alone no longer guarantees trust. While medical degrees and academic training still matter, they are no longer the only voice that people consider when making health decisions. What鈥檚 emerging in the 2025 极乐视频 Trust Barometer Special Report: Trust and Health is a broader definition of legitimate authority on health that prioritizes empathy, clarity and relatability. The voices shaping health today are not only credentialed experts, but also peers, creators and patients who communicate with emotional resonance and lived insight.
This shift doesn鈥檛 reject expertise. Rather, it challenges our assumptions about what counts as expertise in the first place. A new health credential is taking shape鈥攐ne that elevates the importance of human connection and centers on communication as a key differentiator.
Redefining Trust with Expanding Expertise
Doctors and academically trained professionals remain highly respected. In fact, 鈥渕y doctor鈥 is still the most trusted to tell the truth about health globally (82%), followed by friends and family (72%). But institutions continue to fail us on health鈥攏o institution today is trusted on health, with government and media ranking lowest in trust.
Amid this fragmentation, people are applying a more nuanced lens to credibility. Roughly two-thirds (67% and 64%, respectively) say someone with lived health experience or whose advice helped in the past is an important qualifier to be considered a legitimate health expert鈥攃redentials outside of formal academic training.
Younger adults are leading this shift. Nearly half (45%) of 18鈥34-year-olds believe the average person who has done their own research is just as knowledgeable as a doctor on most medical issues, a 7-point increase in the past year. This redefinition of expertise is happening as personal health confidence rises鈥75% of people aged 18-34 say they feel confident in finding trustworthy health information鈥攜et 58% still regret a health decision they made because of misinformation.
The message is clear: people want more than technical or textbook answers. They want to be seen, understood and spoken to in plain language. Credentials remain critical, but they must now be accompanied by communication that builds emotional trust.
The Rise of the 鈥淣on-credentialed鈥 Expert
A growing number of patients are turning to community leaders, creators and peers鈥攙oices that may lack formal credentials but hold significant sway. These individuals are often more available, more relatable and more reflective of real-world experience.
This trend is particularly evident among younger generations. Nearly two-thirds of 18鈥34-year-olds actively consume health information from original sources or social media, and are more likely to post their own health-related stories, news and opinions than older age groups. They don鈥檛 necessarily see their doctor and their favorite health creator as being in conflict鈥攖hey simply see both as part of a broader ecosystem of trust.
However, trust in providers can be fragile. Roughly 1 in 3 patients (36%) say they won鈥檛 trust or will stop seeing a provider if their political views don鈥檛 align. This is especially pronounced among 18鈥34-year-olds (47%), where that number jumped five points in the last year. In short, trust isn鈥檛 just about what you know: it鈥檚 about who you are and how you show up.
The debate isn鈥檛 whether credentialed or uncredentialed voices are more valid. It鈥檚 about which voices are meeting people where they are.
Communication Creates Differentiation
Influence today is defined by relevance, identity alignment and communication style. When people don鈥檛 get what they need from traditional experts鈥攚hether that鈥檚 clarity, empathy, or cultural relevance鈥攖hey look elsewhere.
In many cases, structural limitations can create constraints for the credentialed. This is a call to action for communicators. To support science, we must translate it鈥攚ithout losing its integrity鈥攊nto terms that people can use, understand, feel and trust.
Implications for Health Communications
This shift presents both a challenge and an opportunity. We must reconsider how we credential our messengers. Empathy, clarity and lived experience are no longer soft skills鈥攖hey are core criteria for building health influence.
This means being mindful of generational and cultural nuance. It means blending voices鈥攖hose with academic training and those with lived expertise. It means centering storytelling as a vehicle for science, and listening as much as we speak. Audiences respond to messengers who feel like them, sound like them and share their values. When we expand our definition of 鈥渃redible,鈥 we expand our ability to connect.
Earning Influence
Anecdote isn鈥檛 the enemy of science鈥攊t鈥檚 often the bridge to it. The new health credential lives in the intersection of rigor and relatability, where influence is earned through both knowledge and connection.
To resonate in today鈥檚 health environment, we must think more broadly about who holds the mic. Expertise still matters鈥攂ut it must be communicated with humility, humanity and heart. Influence today doesn鈥檛 only come from titles. It comes from shared understanding and human connection鈥攁nd that鈥檚 where real impact begins.
Jennifer Hauser is 鈥狦lobal Health Co-Chair鈥.
