The impact that family members’ health care experiences have on patients’ trust in physicians

A cross-sectional online survey involving adults with non-communicable diseases (cardiac disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, and rheumatic disease) was conducted in Japan during April 2020. The main exposure variable was dissatisfaction with the medical care that family members had received. The main outcomes were patients’ (N = 661) own trust in their personal physicians and in physicians generally. The study adopted the Japanese version of the Abbreviated Wake Forest Physician Trust Scales. Both 5-item scales (general and individual physician trust) were translated and validated for the study. The total scores were transformed into a scale of 0-100 points. A series of linear mixed-effects models with consideration for clustering effect by prefectures were fit.

The results showed a lower rating for trust in physicians generally as compared to trust in the respondent’s personal physician (mean 57.0 vs. 66.4 points; p < 0.001). Furthermore, dissatisfaction with a family member’s medical care was associated with lower trust in physicians generally (mean difference − 9.58, 95 %CI -12.4 to -6.76). Interestingly, dissatisfaction with a family member’s care was also associated with lower trust in the respondent’s personal physician (mean difference − 3.19, 95 %CI -6.02 to -0.36), but the magnitude of this association was weaker. The lower trust in personal physicians may be mediated by reduced trust in physicians generally.