How Doctor-Patient Mutual Trust Is Built in the Context of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Qualitative Study

Autori:

Tudor-Stefan ROTARU, Vasile DRUG, Liviu OPREA

Cod: ISSN: 1583-3410 (print), ISSN: 1584-5397 (electronic)
Dimensiuni: pp. 185-203

How to cite this article:

Rotaru, T.S., Drug, V., Oprea, L. (2016). How Doctor-Patient Mutual Trust Is Built in the Context of Irritable Bowel Syndrome: A Qualitative Study. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 55, 185-203.

Abstract:

Trust in the doctor-patient relationship is crucial for patients’ adherence to doctors’ recommendations. Despite its importance, there is little knowledge with respect to how trust builds up and is maintained in this relationship. Current literature presents disparate features of trust, not considering the dynamics of interaction and the mutual aspect of doctor-patient relationship. We carried out a qualitative study using 15 interviews of irritable bowel patients from Iasi County, Romania, focused on their trust-related experiences. The sample was recruited for maximum variation. The irritable bowel patients were considered a relevant target group for how mutual trust builds up in the context of chronic diseases because of the uncertainty perceived by these patients with respect to their medical condition. The interviews were analyzed by using the constant comparative method assisted by QSR Nvivo software. Our data analysis identified several pathways embedded in the communication process that instilled trust or distrust: medical outcomes, patient-centered communication, doctor leading patient to insight, reassurance, witnessing procedures, carelessness, and labeling patient as panicky. The novelty of this study’s approach resides on reconsidering trust-related themes from an interactional and mutual point of view, as well as identifying new themes, not previously approached. Our study completes the understanding of how trust is built in doctor-patient interaction, by describing and discussing specific patterns of perception, thought and behavior.