Relationship Between Patient Centeredness and Trust in Physicians for Older Men with Prostate Cancer

High patient trust in physicians has been associated with better treatment and medication adherence, increased attempts at lifestyle modification, and improved health outcomes. Given its significance for healthcare outcomes, it is important to identify strategies for increasing trust in physicians. Patient centered communication (PCC), such as supportive and informative communication and understanding the patient experience, has shown promise as a set of skills that can be developed in physicians that may positively impact trust. We examined the role of PCC in prostate older cancer patients’ trust in their physicians. Participants were 1043 men over the age of 60 with newly diagnosed with prostate cancer. Each reported on relationships with up to five physicians, including urologists, radiation oncologists, and primary care physicians. We tested whether PCC was associated with greater trust in physicians and whether this relationship varied depending on patients’ closeness to their physicians while controlling for demographic factors. Although PCC and closeness to physician were both positively associated with trust for all physician types(ps<.05), these main effects were qualified by significant interactions between closeness and PCC(ps<.05). Patients’ closeness with physicians moderated the association between PCC and trust, i.e. when patients did not feel close to their physician, the association between patient centeredness and trust was stronger than when patients did feel close to their physician. These findings indicate that, for those patients who do not feel a close relationship with their physician, patient centered communication may be a way to increase trust and ultimately improve health outcomes.