Identification and Analysis of Organizational-Professional Factors Affecting the Trust Between the Patient and the Physician

Abstract

In the health system, professional problems and organizational obstacles cause patient fatigue, physician exhaustion, and ultimately interpersonal issues between the patient and the physician, including lack of mutual understanding and erosion of trust. Therefore, trust, as the central core of social capital, plays a significant role in the quality of interpersonal and intergroup interactions. The trust between the patient and the doctor and its general expansion requires a set of organizational considerations and professional principles in the health system. The purpose of this qualitative research was to analyze organizational and professional factors affecting trust between the patient and the physician. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews in the health service centers located in Tehran. Using purposeful sampling and snowball, a total of 39 participants were interviewed until theoretical saturation was reached. Using the systematic approach of grounded theory (GT) and ATLAS.ti software, the data were categorized and analyzed in three stages of open, axial and selective coding. The findings show that the professional-organizational components effecting on trust between physicians and patients include three components of "adaptable professional management", "adaptable insurance" and "adaptable policy" and nine sub-components as described in the article. These components are the composing elements of the structure and infrastructure of professional development in health system, which can restore the relationship and interaction based on trust between the patient and the physician in health system. The other strategic researches are needed to develop strategies and executive policies to increase the trust between the patient and the physician.