Kerman University of Medical Sciences International Journal of Health Policy and Management 2322-5939 14 1 2025 12 01 Principles and Pragmatics for Building Trust in Authority; Comment on “Placing Trust at the Heart of Health Policy and Systems” 1 3 4711 10.34172/ijhpm.8964 EN Stephen David Reicher School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, UK 0000-0002-3449-0082 Journal Article 2024 12 22 <span class="fontstyle0">McKee et al make a powerful plea for placing trust-building at the core of public health initiatives. I endorse that call and propose one general principle along with four practical guidelines for building trust between the public and the authorities. The general principle is that trust is rooted in shared identity and that, therefore, the task of building trust is rooted in building a sense of shared identity both amongst the public and between the public and authorities. The four guidelines are (1) trust the people!; (2) recognise and respect difference; (3) engage with the public; and (4) understanding and support trump blame and punishment. Details and justifications for each of these guidelines is provided in </span><span class="fontstyle0">Supplementary file 1.</span> https://www.ijhpm.com/article_4711_b52340b4de4566b804c9880aa0b4af5f.pdf