Interventions for improving patients' trust in doctors and groups of doctors

Trust is a fundamental component of the patient-doctor relationship and is associated with increased satisfaction, adherence to treatment, and continuity of care. It is not clear if there are interventions known to be effective in enhancing patient trust in doctors.

To assess the effects of interventions intended to improve a patient's trust in the doctor or a group of doctors.

We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library Issue 1 2003), MEDLINE(1966 to week 4 2003), EMBASE (1985 to July 2003), Health Star (1975 to July 2004), PsycINFO (1967 to July 2004), CINAHL (1982 to June 2003), LILACS (1982 to April 2003), African Trials Register (1948 to April 2003), African Health Anthology (1924 to April 2003), Dissertation Abstracts International (1861 to April 2003) and the bibliographies of studies assessed for inclusion. We also searched the bibliographies of studies assessed for inclusion, and contacted researchers active in the field.

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials, controlled before and after studies, and interrupted time series studies of interventions (informative, educational, behavioural, organisational) directed at doctors or patients (or carers) where trust was assessed as a primary or secondary outcome.

Two review authors independently assessed trial quality and extracted data.

Three RCTs, all published in English and set in North American primary care, and involving 1916 participants, were included. There was considerable heterogeneity in terms of aims, format and content of the interventions. One trial of a training intervention for family doctors to improve communication behaviours (20 doctors assessed by 414 patients) showed no effect on trust. The other two interventions were patient focussed. One explored the impact on trust of disclosing physician incentives to patients (n= 918) in a Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) and showed no diminution in trust. Another investigated the effect of induction visits on new HMO members' (n=564) trust in their HMO doctors. Trust in doctors rose compared with control following the visit for one type of induction visit, the group visit (Trust out of 10 (standard deviation (SD)) was 8.8 (1.5) and 7.1 (2.2), difference 1.7, (95% confidence interval 1.22 to 2.18)). However there were many drop-outs and analysis was not on intention to treat.

Overall there remains insufficient evidence to conclude that any intervention may increase or decrease trust in doctors. Further trials are required to explore the impact of policy changes, guidelines and specific doctors' training on patients' trust.