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In this paper I shed light on the connection between respect, trust and patients' satisfaction with their medical care. Using data collected in interviews with 49 women who had managed, or were in the process of managing, their risk of ovarian cancer using prophylactic surgery or ovarian screening, I examine their reported dissatisfaction with medical encounters. I argue that although many study participants appeared to mistrust their healthcare professionals' (HCPs) motives or knowledge base, their dissatisfaction arose not from a lack of trust, but from HCPs' failure to treat them as persons or take their concerns seriously. I conclude by describing how respect, as evidenced by "being taken seriously", is important for the development of trusting Patient-HCP relationships.

Original publication

DOI

10.1007/s11019-008-9156-9

Type

Journal article

Journal

Med Health Care Philos

Publication Date

12/2008

Volume

11

Pages

427 - 437

Keywords

Adult, Delivery of Health Care, Female, Health Personnel, Humans, Informed Consent, Middle Aged, Ovarian Neoplasms, Patient Satisfaction, Sociology, Medical, Trust