Trust in GPs: A Review of the Literature and Analyses of the GP/Patient Survey Data

The purpose of this paper is to initially review the conceptual landscape of trust within the social sciences in order to highlight under what circumstances trust becomes a crucial concern for human interactions. From this basis, the concept of trust is unpacked alongside similar concepts, such as confidence, and goes on to explore trust within the context of a salient concern with the UK health profession, that is, trust between patients and general practitioners (GPs). As will be demonstrated, issues of trust are heightened under greater situations of vulnerability and uncertainty, which means that health researchers interested in trust between patients and GPs need to be sensitive to the types of medical conditions patients have when examining trust in patient/GP relationships. Building on recent focus group work in the UK specifically designed to explore issues of trust with patient/GP relations (Wiles 2014), and using data from the GP/Patient Survey, a set of multivariate analyses are employed to explain levels of perceived trustworthiness in GPs. The results outline the relative impact that patient characteristics, interactional histories, and GP characteristics have on levels of trust, with strong support given to the role of continuity of care as well as GP specific qualities.