Access Type

Open Access Thesis

Date of Award

January 2012

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

M.A.

Department

Sociology

First Advisor

Janet R. Hankin

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis was to determine if sociodemographic characteristics of University students predict their level of trust with their physicians and their level of trust with the health care system. This study used the Primary Care Assessment Survey (PCAS) trust subscale to measure physician trust and the Medical Mistrust Index to measure health care system trust through a self-administered survey (N=186) using convenience sampling. A principle components analysis was conducted to avoid issues of multicollinearity and examine underlying constructs. Bivariate correlations, and regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between patient trust in his/her physician and patient trust in the health care system. Physician trust and system trust were significantly correlated. How one chose his/her physician, marital status, education, and age significantly predicted trust in one's physician. How one chose his/her physician, race, education, gender and age significantly predicted trust in the health care system.

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Sociology Commons

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