Measuring Trust in Healthcare Professionals—A Study of Ethnically Diverse UK Cancer Patients

Abstract

Aim To assess the effect of patient physician trust on how British South Asian (BSA) and British White (BW) patients cope when diagnosed with cancer. Materials and methods We administered a questionnaire incorporating domains of fidelity, honesty, competence, confidentiality and global trust. The patient–physician relationship most preferred by the patient was tested by a further five questions. Five other questionnaires were completed, including the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire and mini-MAC. In total, 94 BSA patients and 185 BW patients were recruited in the Leicestershire Cancer Centre by an English-speaking nurse or two radiographers who between them spoke English, Gujarati, Hindi and Urdu. Results In all the five domains of trust, BW and BSA patients rated doctors in the Leicestershire Cancer Centre consistently high or very high; 97.4% (BW 97.2%, BSA 95.7%) were satisfied with the medical care received and 94.4% completely trusted the hospital doctor; 9.3% were concerned that ‘the NHS would not give the best possible care’. Fewer (80.2%) showed a high degree of trust in general practitioners, particularly in BSA patients (BW 81.4%, BSA 78%, P < 0.027). More BSA patients, however, preferred to receive sensitive information from their general practitioner (BSA 62.5% versus 32.6%; P < 0.0005 or from ‘someone of the similar religion or background to me’ (BSA 38.1% versus BW 7.4%; P < 0.0001). Confidentiality ( P = 0.0005), faith in treatment ( P = 0.011) and understanding of cancer ( P = 0.011) plus a low detrimental effect of the illness on lives ( P = 0.0005) were strong predictors of trust in this sample. Conclusion Trust in both the hospital, general practitioners and the National Health Service in general is very high among BSA and BW cancer patients in Leicestershire. Greater partnership between the hospital and general practitioners is desirable for some sections of our population.