Key Priorities

Trust in health and medical expertise   

Trust in health and medical science is fundamental to the success of our health system. It influences everything from vaccine uptake to the adoption of new treatments and technologies. Yet public trust is increasingly under pressure, challenged by misinformation, polarisation, and the increasing complexity of science itself.

These pressures arise from a combination of systemic, social, and informational factors, including:

Misinformation and disinformation undermining public confidence
Limited public understanding of scientific methods and the inherent uncertainties
Historical and cultural experiences shaping community distrust
Rapid digital communication ecosystems outpacing evidence dissemination

As a trusted voice at the intersection of the delivery of healthcare, science, medicine and society, the Academy works to:

Promote clear, transparent, and inclusive science communication
Tackle misinformation through expert-informed advocacy
Develop policy responses that protect scientific integrity and public trust
Partner with communities to embed dialogue and lived experience into the research process

AAHMS

Focus Areas

Trust is foundational to the success and credibility of health and medical research and systems, influencing the uptake of evidence-based advice and participation in research.
The Academy’s work on trust spans understanding trust, research integrity and impact, and data and artificial intelligence.

Understanding Trust

The Academy’s policy explainer on trust in the health and medical sciences explores trust as a dynamic, multidimensional foundation for effective research, evidence-based care and public engagement. Trust enables participation in research, uptake of health advice, and resilience to misinformation, while declining trust undermines system performance and community confidence. This policy explainer identifies transparency, good communication, equity and institutional integrity as key drivers of trust, and highlights the need to strengthen these to support a robust, responsive health system.

International Scientific Collaboration

High-quality, reliable research is the foundation for a trustworthy health and medical sciences ecosystem and a trusted health system. At a time when 61% of people in Australia say that they worry about health and medical science becoming politicised, the Academy is committed to promoting the rigorous standards, transparency and oversight needed to ensure that research credibility, ethical conduct and public confidence remain strong.

Australia’s Data-Enabled Research Future

Technologies such as precision medicine and AI have transformative potential to streamline care delivery and improve health outcomes. By promoting responsible data stewardship, robust governance and ethical deployment, the Academy supports ethical integration of AI and health data into research and clinical practice in ways that enhance decision-making, protect privacy and deliver meaningful benefits for patients, clinicians, and the health system.

AI in Health

The Academy published a roundtable report ‘Artificial Intelligence in Health: Exploring the Opportunities and Challenges’ on 4 June 2020, which called for a national conversation on the future role of artificial intelligence in health in Australia. Artificial intelligence (AI) is already starting to transform healthcare and the Academy concluded that Australia must act now to set our own path through this new landscape.