Diagnosing Distrust examines the deep, historically-grounded distrust many people of color hold toward the American healthcare system and what it will actually take to repair it, offering a cure through HealthTechquity™, Kunney's framework for using technology deliberately as a powerful tool for equity and trust-building.
Drawing on decades of firsthand experience inside hospital systems, health IT leadership, and digital health innovation, the chapters trace how distrust has been formed through specific, documented events and systemic patterns, why conventional diversity and access initiatives have failed to dislodge it, and what a genuine path forward looks like. The book moves beyond diagnosing the problem to offer practical guidance: how health systems, technologists, and policymakers can design and deploy digital health tools that address historical harm instead of reproducing it, and how organizations can measure whether their equity efforts are producing real, trackable change rather than symbolic gestures. The book pairs candid analysis with concrete strategy, all grounded in the author's work across a diverse group of health systems, academic institutions, government agencies, industry associations and philanthropic organizations.
It is written for healthcare executives, patients, caregivers, health IT and digital health leaders, policymakers, community advocates, and board members responsible for equity and technology strategy, as well as public health researchers, students, and patient advocates seeking a clear-eyed, actionable account of why trust in the healthcare system broke down and how technology can help rebuild it.