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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Jan E. Mutchler, PhD and Judith L. Poey, BA. Gerontology, University of Massachusetts Boston, 100 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125, 617 287 7300, judith.poey@umb.edu

Trust is increasingly recognized as an important component of the patient-physician relationship, having implications for patient cooperation and overall level of satisfaction. To the extent that trust facilitates more effective treatment, lower levels of trust among some racial and ethnic groups may contribute to health disparities within the population. Developing trust may be especially challenging for older Latinos. These individuals may experience greater obstacles to forming trusting relationships with physicians than do their non-Latino counterparts, especially obstacles relating to communication barriers. In the current study, data from the 2000-2001 Community Tracking Study Household Survey are used to examine trust, language, and perceived communication effectiveness among White, African American, and Latino individuals aged 50 and over. Questions on trust and on perceived communication effectiveness of physician are combined into two separate summary scales. Language of interview (Spanish, English) is used as a proxy for the extent to which Latino respondents are comfortable with and proficient in English. Control variables include age, gender, educational status, health status, and insurance status. Multivariate results indicate that older African Americans and Spanish-speaking Latinos report significantly lower levels of trust in their physicians than do older Whites or English-speaking Latinos. Effective physician communication, as rated by the patient, exerts a substantial positive effect on perceived trust, but African Americans and Spanish-speaking Latinos report lower levels of trust even after communication quality and control variables have been taken into account.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the extent to which language barriers may shape patient-physician trust.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered