Patient Credulousness as a Deterrent of Complaining Behaviour

Abstract

Credulousness as defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary is ‘the readiness to believe the claims of others without sufficient evidence’. As patients have a tendency to believe their health service provider too readily, there are chances of being easily deceived. Hence, it was pertinent to analyze the intensity of patient credulousness in this study. Patient credulousness, through phenomenological research, was defined in terms of trust, belief, obedience and doubtless approach towards the doctor. Data analysis revealed that out of the total respondents who participated in the study, almost half of them had a tendency to easily believe and obey their medical service provider. A significant difference existed between respondents possessing various levels of medical awareness as well as those admitted in hospitals belonging to north, central and south Kerala in respect of their credulousness, from the results of one-way ANOVA. Multiple comparisons using Tukey HSD tests revealed that the true differences prevailed between respondents possessing medium awareness and high unawareness about the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as well as between those who were admitted in hospitals belonging to south Kerala from those in north and central Kerala. A statistically significant difference was observed between respondents belonging to various age groups, educational and occupational levels, marital status and those admitted in different types of hospitals belonging to different regions of Kerala in respect of patient credulousness