Building Trustworthiness in Health Care and Research: Disrupting Traditional Practices Through Authentic Community Engagement—Project ENTRUST

Abstract

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Introduction:</jats:title> <jats:p>Project ENTRUST is a mixed-method, community-collaborative, and community-grounded initiative at Duke Health aimed at co-creating a model for equity-driven engagement and trust-building in health care and research.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods:</jats:title> <jats:p>Community members, Duke Health, and university leaders developed the 7-phase ENTRUST Model—a structured roadmap for trust-building through collaborative survey development, town halls, and recommendations for institutional change.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results:</jats:title> <jats:p>The ENTRUST process engaged 6167 survey respondents, over 300 community members and organizations across 6 town halls, and 3 focus groups.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions:</jats:title> <jats:p>The ENTRUST Model offers a replicable framework for health care systems and research institutions seeking to build trust within communities.</jats:p> </jats:sec>