Pediatricians' communication styles as correlates of global trust among Jewish and Bedouin parents of disabled children.

OBJECTIVES

There is a paucity of empirical studies of trust among parents of children with developmental disabilities. Trust is an important element in the patient-physician relationship, especially in medical rehabilitation, where continuous cooperation is essential for positive therapeutic outcomes. Trust is dependent on a variety of psychosocial factors, one of which is the physician's communication style. The current study had three goals: (1) to compare two groups of Israeli parents, Jews and Bedouins, in terms of the levels of global trust in the pediatricians in a regional child development center; (2) to compare their perceptions of the pediatricians' communication styles; and (3) to assess the association between three communication styles (caring, interest, and collaboration) and the parents' trust in the pediatricians.

METHODS

The sample included 193 parents of disabled children ranging from 6 months to 6 years of age. Global trust and parents' perceptions concerning their communication with the center's pediatricians were measured by scales developed for this research.

RESULTS

Despite the large cultural differences that exist between the Jewish and Bedouin groups, the only significant difference between them was that Jewish parents' reported a significantly higher level of collaboration compared with the Bedouins. Global trust in the pediatrician was significantly predicted by the interest and collaboration communication styles, but ethnicity was not a significant predictor.

CONCLUSION

These findings underscore the importance of physicians' interpersonal competence and skills in the therapeutic relationship and support the increasing trend of including doctor-patient communication training in undergraduate and continuing medical education.