Abstract

Trust is the optimistic acceptance of one’s vulnerability in the best belief that the trusted party will do whatever is in the best interest of the one who is trusting. There is substantial scholarship of trust in health care, with specific focus on trust in the physician–patient relationship. From existing literature, there is an understanding of trust in physicians as comprised of competence, fidelity to the patient’s welfare, honesty and confidentiality. There is also substantial research and literature on factors influencing trust in physicians. Despite this sound understanding of the dimensions and determinants of trust in physicians, studies show that interventions to build trust in physicians do not work. Most of this research on trust emerges from developed healthcare settings in the West. There is a need for understanding trust in physicians in developing healthcare settings. This chapter describes the existing literature on trust in physicians from the Western context and justifies the need for research from developing healthcare context.