Email this article Trust in doctors, and the beliefs of older people about the effectiveness of medicine in the fight against cancer
Abstract
Introduction: Poland is one of the countries with the highest rates of cancer mortality. Throughout Europe and the US, more than 60% of the total cancer incidence is in persons 65 years and older. In the fight against cancer, not only large-scale actions are necessary, but also the improvement of the physician-patient relationship itself. An important part of this relationship is patient’s trust.
In this article we present a study on seniors’ level of trust in doctors and older people’s beliefs about the effectiveness of medicine in the fight against cancer, as well as the influence of variables such as sex, economic status and education on the level of trust in the physician and medicine.
Materials and methods: In 2012, sociological research was conducted among 329 older people in Wrocław in Poland. Quota sampling was applied and a questionnaire with a high level of standardization was used. We used available methods for categorical data analysis.
Results: Most of the respondents declared trust in doctors but to varying degrees. The level of trust in a doctor depends on income and education; 44.98% of respondents agreed with the statement that “modern medicine (…) can cope effectively with cancer”. However, 55.02% of respondents disagreed with that. The type of declaration was correlated with the income of respondents.
Conclusions: The level of trust in physicians and medicine depends on socio-demographic variables that determine inequalities in health, such as age, economic situation and education. The results will be used to develop more effective health promotion and oncological prevention programmes targeting older people.
Keywords
Full Text:
PDF (Język Polski)References
Yancik R, Ries LA. Cancer in older persons. Magnitude of the problem – how do we apply what we know? Cancer 1994;74(S7):1995-2003. doi: 10.1002/1097-0142(19941001)74:7+<1995:AID-CNCR 2820741702>3.0.CO;2-Y.
Yancik R, Ries LA. Cancer in older persons: an international issue in an aging world. Semin Oncol 2004;31(2):128-36. doi: 10.1053/j.seminoncol.2003.12.024.
Jemal A, Siegel R, Ward E, Hao Y, Xu J, Thun MJ. Cancer statistics, 2009. CA Cancer J Clin 2009;59(4):225-49. doi: 10.3322/caac.20006.
Wojciechowska U, Didkowska J. Zachorowania i zgony na nowotwory złośliwe w Polsce. Krajowy Rejestr Nowotworów, Centrum Onkologii – Instytut im. Marii Skłodowskiej-Curie. http://onkologia.org.pl/raporty (30.12.2014).
European Commission EUROSTAT 2009. http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics (29.10.2013).
Didkowska J, Wojciechowska U, Zatoński W. Prediction of cancer incidence and mortality in Poland up to the year 2025. Prognozy zachorowalności i umieralności na nowotwory złośliwe w Polsce do 2025. http://onkologia.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/Prognozy_2025.pdf (30.12.2014).
Reich M, Gaudron C, Penel N. When cancerophobia and denial lead to death. Palliat Suppor Care 2009;7(02):253-5. doi: 10.1017/S14789515090003.
Rabinowitz T, Peirson R. “Nothing is wrong, doctor”: understanding and managing denial in patients with cancer. Cancer Invest 2006;24(1):68-76. doi: 10.1080/07357900500449678.
Tobiasz-Adamczyk B, Szafraniec K, Bajka J. Zachowania w chorobie: opis przebiegu choroby z perspektywy pacjenta. Kraków: Collegium Medicum Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego; 1999.
Hall MA, Zheng BY, Dugan E, Camacho F, Kidd KE, Mishra A, et al. Measuring patients’ trust in their primary care providers. Med Care Res Rev 2002;59(3):293-318. doi: 10.1177/1077558702059003004.
Balkrishnan R, Dugan E, Camacho FT, Hall MA. Trust and satisfaction with physicians, insurers, and the medical profession. Med Care 2003;41(9):1058-64. doi:10.1097/01.MLR.0000083743.15238.9F.
Salmon P, Young B. Dependence and caring in clinical communication: the relevance of attachment and other theories. Patient Educ Couns 2009;74(3):331-8. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2008.12.011.
Seetharamu N, Iqbal U, Weiner JS. Determinants of trust in the patient – oncologist relationship. Palliat Support Care 2007;5(4):405-9.
Hillen MA, Koning CC, Wilmink JW, Klinkenbijl JH, Eddes EH, Kallimanis-King BL, et al. Assessing cancer patients’ trust in their oncologist: development and validation of the Trust in Oncologist Scale (TiOS). Support Care Cancer 2012;20(8):1787-95. doi: 10.1007/s00520-011-1276-8.
Mechanic D, Meyer S. Concepts of trust among patients with serious illness. Soc Sci Med 2000;51(5):657-68.
Giddens A. Nowoczesność i tożsamość. Warszawa: PWN; 2012.
Giddens A. Konsekwencje nowoczesności. Kraków: Wyd. Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego; 2008.
Barber B. The logic and limits of trust. New Brunswick: Rutgers University Press; 1983.
Luhmann N. Trust and power. New York: Wiley; 1989.
Beck U, Giddens A, Lash S. Reflexive modernization: Politics, tradition and aesthetics in the modern social order. Stanford: Stanford University Press; 1994.
Calnan M, Rowe R. Trust Matters in Health Care. Maidenhead: Open University Press; 2008.
Goold SD, Klipp G. Managed care members talk about trust. Soc Sci Med 2002;54(6):879-88. doi: 10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00070-3.
Luhmann N. Familiarity, confidence, trust: problems and alternatives. In: Gambetta D, editor. Trust: Making and Breaking Cooperative Relations. Oxford: Blackwell; 1988.
Andreassen HK, Trondsen M, Kummervold PE, Gammon D, Hjortdahl P. Patients who use e-mediated communication with their doctor: new constructions of trust in the patient-doctor relationship. Qual Health Res 2006;16(2):238-48. doi: 10.1177/1049732305284667.
Meyer S, Ward P, Coveney J, Rogers W. Trust in the health system: an analysis and extension of the social theories of Giddens and Luhmann. Health Soc Rev 2008;17(2):177-86. doi: 10.5172/hesr.451.17.2.177.
Luhmann N. Trust and power: Two works by Niklas Luhmann. Brisbane: John Wiley and Sons; 1979.
Goudge J, Gilson L. How can trust be investigated? Drawing lessons from past experience. Soc Sci Med 2005;61:1439-51. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.11.071.
McKinstry B, Ashcroft RE, Car J, Freeman GK, Sheikh A. Interventions for improving patients’ trust in doctors and groups of doctors. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2006;19(3):CD004134. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD004134.pub2.
Hall MA, Dugan E, Zheng B, Mishra AK. Trust in physicians and medical institutions: what is it, can it be measured, and does it matter? Milbank Q 2001;79(4):613-39. doi: 10.1111/1468-0009.00223.
Calnan M, Rowe R. Researching trust relations in health care: conceptual and methodological challenges – introduction. J Health Organ Manag 2006;20(5):349-58. doi: 10.1108/14777260610701759.
Bensing J. Bridging the gap. The separate worlds of evidence-based medicine and patient centered medicine. Patient Educ Couns 2000;39(1):17–25. doi: 10.1016/S0738-3991(99)00087-7.
Piątkowski W. Lecznictwo niemedyczne – perspektywa socjologiczna. In: Ostrowska A, editor. Socjologia medycyny. Podejmowane problemy, kategorie, analizy. Warszawa: Wyd. IFiS PAN; 2009. p. 311-38.
Thom DH, Kravitz RL, Bell RA, Krupat E, Azari R. Patient trust in the physician: relationships to patient requests. Family Practice 2002;19(5):476-83. doi: 10.1093/fampra/19.5.476.
Lee YY, Lin JL. The effects of trust in physicians on self-efficacy, adherence and diabetes outcomes. Soc Sci Med 2009;68(6):1060-8. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2008.12.033.
Pearson SD, Raeke LH. Patients’ trust in physicians: many theories, few measures, and little data. J Gen Intern Med 2000;15(7):509-13. doi: 10.1046/j.1525-1497.2000.11002.x.
Tarrant C, Stokes T, Baker R. Factors associated with patients’ trust in their general practitioner: A cross-sectional survey. Br J Gen Pract 2003;53(495):798-800.
Trachtenberg F, Dugan E, Hall MA. How patients’ trust relates to their involvement in medical care. J Fam Pract 2005;54(4):344-52.
Safran DG, Taira DA, Rogers WH, Kosinski M, Ware JE, Tarlov AR. Linking primary care performance to outcomes of care. J Fam Pract 1998;47(3):213-20.
O’Malley AS, Sheppard VB, Schwartz M, Mandelblatt J. The role of trust in use of preventive services among low-income African-American women. Prev Med 2004;38(6):777-85. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.01.018.
von Wagner C, Macedo A, Campbell C, Simon AE, Wardle J, Hammersley V, et al. Continuing cancer screening later in life: attitudes and intentions among older adults in England. Age Ageing 2013;42(6):770-5. doi: 10.1093/ageing/aft132.
Royer HR, Phelan CH, Heidrich SM. Older breast cancer survivors’ symptom beliefs. Oncol Nurs Forum 2009;36(4):463-0. doi: 10.1188/09.ONF.463-470.
Ostrowska A. Profilaktyka zdrowotna: interpretacje, definicje sytuacji, racjonalności (przypadek profilaktyki ginekologicznej kobiet). Studia Socjologiczne 2011;3(202):73-94.
Heidrich SM, Egan JJ, Hengudomsub P, Randolph SM. Symptoms, symptom beliefs, and quality of life of older breast cancer survivors: A comparative study. Oncol Nurs Forum 2006;33(2):315-22. doi: 10.1188/06.ONF.315-322.
Morgan R, Pendleton N, Clague JE, Horan MA. Older people’s perceptions about symptoms. Br J Gen Pract 1997;47(420):427-30.
Vos MS, De Haes JC. Denial in cancer patients, an explorative review. Psychooncology 2007;16(1):12-25.
WHO Center for Health Development. Ageing and Health Technical Report. http://www.who.int/kobe_centre/ageing/ahp_vol5_glossary.pdf?ua=1 (16.05.2016).
Nowotwory złośliwe ogółem. Krajowy Rejestr Nowotworów. 2017. http://onkologia.org.pl/nowotwory-zlosliwe-ogolem-2 (16.05.2017).
Prestiż zawodów. Komunikat z badań BS/8/2009. CBOS. 2009. Warszawa: Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej; 2009.
Prestiż zawodów. Komunikat z badań BS/164/2013. CBOS. 2013. Warszawa: Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej; 2013.
Opinie o błędach medycznych i zaufaniu do lekarzy. Komunikat z badań nr 165/2014. CBOS. 2014. Warszawa: Fundacja Centrum Badania Opinii Społecznej; 2014.
Blendon RJ, Benson JM, Hero JO. Public trust in physicians – US medicine in international perspective. N Engl J Med 2014;371(17):1570-2. doi: 10.1056/NEJMp1407373.
Gallup Polls. Opinion Polls On Public Trust In Physicians. December 7–11, 2016. http://www.gallup.com/poll/1654/honesty-ethics-professions.aspx (21.04.2017).
Gallup Polls. Opinion Polls On Public Trust In Physicians. June 5–8, 2014. http://www.gallup.com/poll/171710/public-faith-congress-falls-again-hits-historic-low.aspx (21.04.2017).
International Social Survey Programme Research Group. Health and Health Care — ISSP 2011. Cologne: GESIS Data Archive, 2013. ZA5800 Data file version 2.0.0. doi: 10.4232/1.11759.
Ostrowska A. Wstęp do socjologii medycyny. Warszawa: Wyd. IFiS PAN; 1990.
Chin JJ. Doctor-patient relationship: from medical paternalism to enhanced autonomy. Singapore Med J 2002;43(3):152-5.
Tauber AI. Sick autonomy. Perspect Biol Med 2003;46(4):484-95.
Smith M, Saunders R, Stuckhardt L, McGinnis JM, editors. Best Care at Lower Cost: The Path to Continuously Learning Health Care in America. Washington: National Academies Press; 2012.
Czapiński J, Panek T. Social diagnosis 2013. Objective and subjective quality of life in Poland. Warszawa: Rada Monitoringu Społecznego, 2013.
Kraetschmer N, Sharpe N, Urowitz S, Deber RB. How does trust affect patient preferences for participation in decision‐making? Health Expect 2004;7(4):317-26. doi: 10.1111/j.1369-7625.2004.00296.x.
Bonds DE, Foley KL, Dugan E, Hall MA, Extrom P. An exploration of patients’ trust in physicians in training. J Health Care Poor Underserved 2004;15(2):294-306.
Synowiec-Piłat M. Kampanie społeczne na rzecz pacjentów onkologicznych i ich najbliższych. Główne obszary działania. In: Synowiec-Piłat M, Olchowska-Kotala A, editors. Socjologia i psychologia dla pacjenta. Wybrane zagadnienia. Toruń: Wyd. Adam Marszałek; 2012. p. 66-83.
Fiscella K, Franks P, Gold MR, Clancy CM. Inequality in quality: addressing socioeconomic, racial, and ethnic disparities in health care. JAMA 2000;283(19):2579-84. doi: 10.1001/jama.283.19.2579.
Everson SA, Maty SC, Lynch JW, Kaplan GA. Epidemiologic evidence for the relation between socioeconomic status and depression, obesity, and diabetes. J Psychosom Res 2002;53(4):891-5. doi: 10.1016/S0022-3999(02)00303-3.
Gorey KM, Vena JE. The association of near poverty status with cancer incidence among black and white adults. J Community Health 1995;20(4):359-66.
Howard G, Anderson RT, Russell G, Howard VJ, Burke GL. Race, socioeconomic status, and cause-specific mortality. Ann Epidemiol 2000;10(4): 214-23. doi: 10.1016/S1047-2797(00)00038-7.
Becker G, Newsom E. Socioeconomic status and dissatisfaction with health care among chronically ill African Americans. Am J Public Health 2003;93(5):742-8.
Zimmerman EB, Woolf SH, Haley A. Understanding the relationship between education and health: a review of the evidence and an examination of community perspectives. Population health: behavioral and social science insights. Rockville: Agency for Health-care Research and Quality; 2015. p. 347-84.
https://www.ahrq.gov/professionals/education/curriculum-tools/population-health/zimmerman.html
(21.04.2017).
Wong MD, Shapiro MF, Boscardin WJ, Ettner SL. Contribution of major diseases to disparities in mortality. N Engl J Med 2002;347:1585-92. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa012979.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.21164/pomjlifesci.339
Copyright (c) 2017 Małgorzata Synowiec-Piłat, Beata Zmyślona, Anna Pałęga
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/pl/