Background: The aim of this study is to gain a better
understanding of the true importance of trust in clinical practice by looking
at how it is formed, how it affects clinical practice, and how to improve it.Methods: Using the PRISMA-ScR checklist, a review of the literature
was performed to identify research evaluating the importance of trust in the
doctor-patient relationship. After thorough screening and removal of
duplicates, 21 articles were used in the literature review. Results: The
classifying themes that emerged in the selected articles were What Makes Trust
and Effects of Trust. The theme of What Makes Trust garnered two subthemes as
well: Impact of Doctor-Patient Relationship on Trust and Impact of Shared
Decision-Making on Trust. Further to that, the overarching themes found were
slightly more specific. They were Traits of Trust, Mistrust and Barriers to
Trust, Positive Effects of Trust and the Effects of a Lack of Trust. We found
that the best way to improve trust was to improve communication between the patient
and the doctor. Additionally, we found that the biggest barrier to a trusting
doctor patient relationship was a stigmatised condition, followed by a
perception of a financially-motivated doctor. Finally, we found that a lack of
trust can prevent patients from seeking and receiving proper treatment.Conclusions: With a better understanding of how trust is built
and the extent of the role it plays in clinical practice, we hope that this
growing knowledge can improve the practice of many doctors in the future. It is
certain that more research needs to be done in this area, especially focusing
on vulnerable and stigmatised populations such as chronic pain patients.
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