Patients' trust in their physician--psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the "Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale".

OBJECTIVE

Aim was to investigate the psychometric properties of a Dutch version of the "Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale", which intends to measure patients' trust in their physician.

METHODS

A random sample of internal medicine patients visiting the outpatient clinic completed the questionnaire (N=201). Dimensionality, reliability and validity of the instrument were examined.

RESULTS

The structure of the questionnaire was best explained by a unidimensional construct. Reliability was confirmed: internal consistency was high (alpha=.88), and mean item-total correlations were all above .40. Construct validity was indicated by patients' trust in their physician correlating significantly and as hypothesized with (1) satisfaction with their physician (r=.64), (2) with the length of the patient-physician relationship (r=.28), (3) with their willingness to recommend their physician (r=.71) and (4) their unwillingness to switch their physician (r=.61).

CONCLUSION

The results suggest the Dutch version of the Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale to be a psychometrically sound instrument to assess patients' interpersonal trust.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Trust is a key feature of the patient-physician relationship, yet has been scarcely researched in other than Anglophone cultures. An adequate Dutch trust questionnaire forms the first step to gaining more knowledge about patient-physician trust in another culture and health care setting.