AB171. SOH23ABS_240. Healthcare trust in patients attending a chronic pain clinic

Background: Trust is a fundamental pillar in the practice of medicine—but is the concept given enough significance? When we consider the basics of a medical consultation—a doctor and a patient having a conversation—we know that the patient is relying on an assumption that they can trust their doctor, while the doctor must trust that the patient will tell them the truth. We must question whether trust between the patient and the doctor is becoming lost, and what consequences might entail if it is. This study is the first of its kind to be done exclusively in a chronic pain clinic. This study aims to determine the importance and effects of trust in clinical practice in the eyes of patients referred to a chronic pain clinic. In doing so, we hope to gain insight into the impact of a trusting doctor-patient relationship on chronic pain patients.

Methods: Approximately 100 adult patients will receive a survey, after receiving an information leaflet and consenting to the study, while waiting to be seen in a pain clinic. Surveys are anonymous and consist of a 13-item questionnaire using a 5-point Likert scale and one additional open-ended question. The results will then be gathered and evaluated as descriptive statistics.

Results: Average patient age was 52 years with a 62% female ratio. The majority of patients referred to a chronic pain clinic trust their general practitioners.

Conclusions: It will be interesting to see if these patients trust their general practitioners. We expect to find mostly positive views of the doctor-patient relationship from the eyes of the patients. This is due to the fact that they have been referred to the pain clinic and so they will have managed to obtain their physician’s trust somehow.

Keywords: Chronic pain; clinical practice; doctor; doctor patient relationship; trust