Building Trust and Relationships Between Patients and Providers: An Essential Complement to Health Literacy in HIV Care.
Carol Dawson-Rose, Yvette P Cuca, Allison R Webel and 18 others
PMID 27080926WHAT IT FOUND
People living with HIV and their providers described trust, respect, and partnership as central to health literacy and staying in care.
For nurses, this means building ongoing relationships over time, not just giving correct information.
Key findings
01Participants consistently identified an ongoing and trusting patient-provider relationship as one of the most important contributors to the health of people living with HIV.
02Trust in HIV care was described as having three parts: respect, partnership, and a dynamic process of building and rebuilding trust over time.
03Before patients would listen to advice, they needed to feel respected, and respect included validating their own knowledge and expertise.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This study describes what participants said, not whether any communication approach improved health, engagement, or adherence. People were recruited from HIV clinics and AIDS service organizations, so patients who were disconnected from care or providers who were less focused on relationships may be underrepresented. The study did not aim for data saturation, so the themes may not be complete. Three people living with HIV were excluded because of Mini Mental State Exam scores of 20 or less, so findings may not reflect patients with cognitive impairment. Provider training and direct experience with health education were not collected.
Declared interests
The authors reported no real or perceived vested interests related to the article. The publication types list NIH extramural and non-U.S. government research support, but the text does not state a funder role.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that respectful partnership improves HIV outcomes. It is a qualitative study of what patients and providers said. No communication intervention was tested, and no health outcome was measured.