ArticlePloS one2014
A preliminary mixed-method investigation of trust and hidden signals in medical consultations.
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 23 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
23 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
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- Interactive sections of an Internet-based intervention increase empowerment of chronic back pain patients: randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Trial
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- Education makes people take their medication: myth or maxim?Breathe (Sheffield, England) · 2020Article
- Communication training and the prescribing pattern of antibiotic prescription in primary health care.PloS one · 2020Article
- The impact of contract service policy and doctor communication skills on rural patient-doctor trust relationship in the village clinics of three counties.BMC health services research · 2019Article
- Clinical Decision-making among Emergency Physicians: Experiential or Rational?Journal of epidemiology and global health · 2018Article
- Trust and Perceptions of Physicians' Nonverbal Behavior Among Women with Immigrant Backgrounds.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2018Article
- The Role of Autobiographical Story-Telling During Rehabilitation Among Hip-Fracture Geriatric Patients.Europe's journal of psychology · 2018Article
- Legal and psychological considerations for obtaining informed consent for reverse total shoulder arthroplasty.Shoulder & elbow · 2017Review
- Value as the key concept in the health care system: how it has influenced medical practice and clinical decision-making processes.Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare · 2017Article
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- Decisions and the involvement of cancer patient survivors: a moral imperative.Journal of healthcare leadership · 2016Article
- What Do Physicians Believe About the Way Decisions Are Made? A Pilot Study on Metacognitive Knowledge in the Medical Context.Europe's journal of psychology · 2015Article
- A Cohort Pilot Study on HIV-Associated Neuropsychological Impairments in Hemophilia Patients.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2015Article
- Computational Psychometrics in Communication and Implications in Decision Making.Computational and mathematical methods in medicine · 2015Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundSeveral factors influence patients' trust, and trust influences the doctor-patient relationship. Recent literature has investigated the quality of the personal relationship and its dynamics by considering the role of communication and the elements that influence trust giving in the frame of general practitioner (GP) consultations.
objectiveWe analysed certain aspects of the interaction between patients and GPs to understand trust formation and maintenance by focusing on communication channels. The impact of socio-demographic variables in trust relationships was also evaluated.
methodA cross-sectional design using concurrent mixed qualitative and quantitative research methods was employed. One hundred adults were involved in a semi-structured interview composed of both qualitative and quantitative items for descriptive and exploratory purposes. The study was conducted in six community-based departments adjacent to primary care clinics in Trento, Italy.
resultsThe findings revealed that patients trusted their GP to a high extent by relying on simple signals that were based on the quality of the one-to-one communication and on behavioural and relational patterns. Patients inferred the ability of their GP by adopting simple heuristics based mainly on the so-called social "honest signals" rather than on content-dependent features. Furthermore, socio-demographic variables affected trust: less literate and elderly people tended to trust more.
conclusionsThis study is unique in attempting to explore the role of simple signals in trust relationships within medical consultation: people shape trust and give meaning to their relationships through a powerful channel of communication that orbits not around words but around social relations. The findings have implications for both clinicians and researchers. For doctors, these results suggest a way of thinking about encounters with patients. For researchers, the findings underline the importance of analysing some new key factors around trust for future investigations in medical practice and education.
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