Kansas Public Health Collaborative

Public Health Agencies: Learn from NASA About Regaining the Public’s Trust

Nasa Space Telescope Image

The amazing images of the Cartwheel Galaxy captured by the James Webb Space Telescope this summer, and before them the spectacular images from the Hubble telescope, have amazed and inspired many people worldwide, who now look to NASA as a trusted federal agency.

It hasn’t always enjoyed such strong support. After the Challenger disaster, in which the space shuttle with seven crew members aboard exploded after liftoff, NASA was beset by questions about its decision-making and faced a significant challenge with public perceptions. It learned painful lessons about a flawed management structure and poor communications.The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other public health agencies find themselves in a similar position these days, having lost the trust of their stakeholders during the Covid-19 pandemic.”

In this article, Dr. Judy Monroe shared more information in about Public Health could learn from the journey that NASA went through to regain the public’s trust.

Read more about how public health agencies can learn from NASA about regaining the public’s trust.