Public trust in primary care doctors, the medical profession and the healthcare system among Redhill residents in Singapore.
- Author:
Yi Yong LEE
1
;
Choon Ta NG
;
M Ghazalie Siti AISHAH
;
Ju Zheng NGIAM
;
Bee Choo TAI
;
Meng Kin LIM
;
Kenneth HUGHES
Author Information
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- MeSH: Adolescent; Adult; Cross-Sectional Studies; Delivery of Health Care; Female; Humans; Male; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians, Family; Public Opinion; Singapore; Surveys and Questionnaires; Trust
- From:Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore 2007;36(8):655-661
- CountrySingapore
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
INTRODUCTIONThere have been few studies on public trust in doctors and healthcare systems and this is the first in Singapore.
MATERIALS AND METHODSA cross-sectional survey was carried out in Redhill in January 2005. Citizens or Permanent Residents aged > or =18 years were randomly selected, one per household to avoid cluster bias, and 361 participated (response rate 68.7%). An interview administered questionnaire included 3 questionnaires measuring public trust: "Interpersonal Trust in Physicians Scale" for primary care doctors; "Trust in Physicians Generally Scale" for the medical profession; and "Trust in Healthcare System Scale" for the Healthcare System. Questions were answered on a Likert scale: 1. Strongly Disagree, 2. Disagree, 3. Neutral, 4. Agree, 5. Strongly Agree. Individual transformed scores of trust (range, 0 to 100) were equally divided into 5 categories with their average being the transformed mean.
RESULTSTrust in primary care doctors (mean 59.7) had proportions (prevalence rates) of: very low 0.3%, low 2.5%, neutral 40.4%, high 54.0%, and very high 2.8%. Trust in the medical profession (mean 61.8) had proportions of: very low 1.0%, low 7.7%, neutral 33.7%, high 47.0%, and very high 10.5%. Trust in the healthcare system (mean 61.5) had proportions of: very low 0.5%, low 4.1%, neutral 40.0%, high 48.7%, and very high 6.7%. For areas of the healthcare system, proportions of high/very high trust were: "Healthcare Providers' Expertise" (70.8%), "Quality of Care" (61.5%), "Patient Focus of Providers" (58.7%), "Information Supply and Communication by Care Providers" (52.3%), "Quality of Cooperation" (43.3%), and Policies of the Healthcare System" (24.6%).
CONCLUSIONSWhile low proportions had low/very low trust, the high proportions with neutral trust and the rather low level of trust in "Policies of the Healthcare System" are causes for concern.