Trust in healthcare settings: Scale development, methods, and preliminary determinants

Area of Science:

• Healthcare research
• Patient trust
• Emergency medicine

Background:

• Limited research exists on trust formation in emergent care populations.
• Existing literature focuses on general healthcare settings, not specific emergent care contexts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key determinants of trust formation in emergent care patients.
• To outline the process for developing a scale to measure patient trust in emergency settings.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a literature review of 155 articles, with 65 meeting eligibility criteria.
• Identified key trust determinants through systematic review.
• Proposed a scale development process including literature review, qualitative analysis, piloting, and survey validation.

Main Results:

• Identified crucial trust determinants: honesty, confidentiality, dependability, communication, competency, fiduciary responsibility, fidelity, and agency.
• Physician behaviors significantly influence patient trust.
• A multi-stage process is recommended for developing a reliable trust measurement scale.

Conclusions:

• Key determinants of trust in emergent care have been identified.
• Physician behaviors are critical components for measuring patient trust.
• Next steps involve patient interviews to develop a validated trust scale for emergent care.