The following is a summary of “Indicators of the dimensions of trust (and mistrust) in early primary care practice: a qualitative study,” published in the July 2023 issue of Primary Care by Shaughnessy et al.
Trust in written reflections of healthcare clinicians is influenced by sincerity, truthfulness, and competence, making them vulnerable. Researchers conducted a cohort study to grasp how trust influences self-evaluation among residents and provide relationship science-based guidance to enhance confidence in healthcare education and practice.
They examined 767 anonymous reflective writings from 33 residents, identifying trust-related indicators. Entries were coded by two authors using inductive dimensions. A final coding structure, developed by three authors, was validated against the access, resulting in categorized dimensions.
The results showed 114 reflections with trust indicators. These were categorized into five code groups: self-trust for decision-making confidence, trust among medical peers, patient trust’s impact on clinicians, assessing patient trust, and patient trust affecting behavior.
They also discussed how trust is inherently relationship-centered and institutionally embedded. It’s a reciprocal process involving the residents benefiting patients, themselves, and the medical institution. However, solely concentrating on trust moments or specific types overlooks this complexity.
Investigators concluded that increased trust awareness improves healthcare education, clinicians’ performance, satisfaction, and patient interaction quality.
Source: bmcprimcare.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12875-023-02098-2