Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28170443›Full record

SynthesisPloS one2017

Trust in the health care professional and health outcome: A meta-analysis.

Johanna Birkhäuer, Jens Gaab, Joe Kossowsky, Sebastian Hasler, Peter Krummenacher, Christoph Werner, Heike Gerger

Registry-linked trialAbstract readMeta-Analysis
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in PloS one, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04361968 (Combining Animal-assisted Intervention and Placebo-induced Analgesia), which is not on this map. Cited by 387 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
387citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT04361968 nacompletednot on this mapstarted 2020, after this paper: background citation

Combining Animal-assisted Intervention and Placebo-induced Analgesia: The Dog as Treatment in a Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity Hospital, Basel, SwitzerlandRan2020 to 2020Enrolled128ConditionsPain, Therapeutic Alliance, PlaceboArmsAnimal-assisted placebo condition, Placebo condition, Dog only condition, Control Condition
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

387 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. The Patient's Voice in Advanced Practice Nursing: A Qualitative Systematic Review of Lived Experiences.Journal of nursing scholarship : an official publication of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing · 2026
    Pooled it
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  6. Hospital Care at Home for Adults Living in Rural Settings: A Qualitative Evaluation.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2026
    Trial
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  11. Article
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  13. Helmet Therapy in Infants with Positional Skull Deformity: A Retrospective Study of 455 Patients from a German Tertiary Care Center.The Cleft palate-craniofacial journal : official publication of the American Cleft Palate-Craniofacial Association · 2026
    Article
  14. Article
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  18. Building Trust in a Newly Established Physician-Patient Relationship: A Scoping Review.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2026
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  19. Article
  20. Constructing a Conceptual Model for Measuring Physician-Patient Trust: Integrating Theory and Research.Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy · 2026
    Article

327 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Johanna BirkhäuerClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4815-4650
Jens GaabClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Joe KossowskyClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Sebastian HaslerClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Peter KrummenacherCollegium Helveticum, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
Christoph WernerClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
Heike GergerClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo examine whether patients' trust in the health care professional is associated with health outcomes. STUDY SELECTION: We searched 4 major electronic databases for studies that reported quantitative data on the association between trust in the health care professional and health outcome. We screened the full-texts of 400 publications and included 47 studies in our meta-analysis. DATA EXTRACTION AND DATA SYNTHESIS: We conducted random effects meta-analyses and meta-regressions and calculated correlation coefficients with corresponding 95% confidence intervals. Two interdependent researchers assessed the quality of the included studies using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines.

resultsOverall, we found a small to moderate correlation between trust and health outcomes (r = 0.24, 95% CI: 0.19-0.29). Subgroup analyses revealed a moderate correlation between trust and self-rated subjective health outcomes (r = 0.30, 0.24-0.35). Correlations between trust and objective (r = -0.02, -0.08-0.03) as well as observer-rated outcomes (r = 0.10, -0.16-0.36) were non-significant. Exploratory analyses showed a large correlation between trust and patient satisfaction and somewhat smaller correlations with health behaviours, quality of life and symptom severity. Heterogeneity was small to moderate across the analyses.

conclusionsFrom a clinical perspective, patients reported more beneficial health behaviours, less symptoms and higher quality of life and to be more satisfied with treatment when they had higher trust in their health care professional. There was evidence for upward bias in the summarized results. Prospective studies are required to deepen our understanding of the complex interplay between trust and health outcomes.

Indexed as

Health PersonnelOutcome Assessment, Health CareTrustDatabases, FactualHumansObservational Studies as TopicPatient SatisfactionPublication Bias

Identifiers

PMID28170443
PMCPMC5295692

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.