The principle of stewardship truthful communication for the restoration of trust in public health officials.

In the wake of widespread public skepticism toward health authorities, this paper introduces a stewardship model of communication to guide public health officials in restoring trust. In critically examining the broader ethical concept of stewardship as developed by the World Health Organization and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the paper argues that public health officials-as stewards of the population's health and well-being-have an ethical duty to convey scientific knowledge truthfully. Rather than promoting excessive transparency or manipulating public perception through noble lies, the proposed stewardship model insists on honesty tempered by discretion. This entails conveying information that is accessible, assessable, and accountable. Through conceptual analysis and practical examples, the paper outlines how public health officials can fulfill their ethical duty of care by reclaiming their role as trustworthy stewards.