Evaluation of the Trust in Physician Scale (TIPS) of primary health care patients in north-east Poland: a preliminary study

Background. Trust is a complex concept, difficult to study, but very important in a patient-family physician relationship. One of the measures used to assess interpersonal trust is a scale developed by Anderson & Dedrick entitled the Trust in Physician Scale (TI PS).

Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess the TI PS properties in relation to the age, gender, and health status of primary health care patients consulting family doctors and trainees in north-east Poland.

Material and methods. A cross-sectional study using the TI PS was conducted in primary health care units in north-east Poland. 120 patients (60 who came to see family doctors, and 60 who came to see trainees) were asked to participate in the survey.

Results. The Trust in Physician Scale has good reliability in primary care patients in north-east Poland (Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was 0.90). Patients displayed statistically significant greater trust in family doctors than in trainees. A negative correlation was found between age and the trust scale (r = -0.30; p = 0.005); the younger the respondent, the higher trust in the physician, and conversely, a positive correlation between self-assessment of health and the trust scale (r = 0.3; p = 0.003).

Conclusions. The Polish translation of the TI PS instrument performed well in terms of acceptability in the family medicine environment. It can be used to differentiate between the level of trust in family doctors and in trainees. A relation between age, sex, education level and self-assessment of health needs to be confirmed using a larger sample.