Trust in Healthcare Providers and Health-Related Quality of Life Among a Sample of Diabetic Patients in Saudi Arabia

Background: Patient-centered care leads to greater trust in the health care providers and the health system overall and has been linked to improved health outcomes. However, very little is known about this relationship among Middle Eastern diabetic patients. Therefore, we aimed to examine the relationship between patient trust in health care providers and the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among a sample of diabetic patients.
Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which adult diabetic patients (≥18 years) visiting primary care clinics in a university affiliated medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were interviewed. Patients’ trust in healthcare providers was assessed using the Arabic version of the health care relationship trust scale (HCR-trust) scale. The HRQoL was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life (WHOQOL)-BREF. Multiple linear regression model was used to examine the relationship between HRQoL and patient trust in health care providers controlling for age, education, sex, Charlson comorbidity index (CCI) score, and health literacy.
Results: The number of diabetic patients, who consented and participated in the study, was 210 participants. The mean score of the HCR-trust scale was 40±9.82. The mean scores of the WHOQOL-BREF for physical health (WHOQOL-Physical), psychological (WHOQOL-Psychological), social relationships (WHOQOL-Social), and Environment (WHOQOL-Environment) domains were 54±20.24, 71±18.4, 74±22.3, and 70±17.2; respectively. The higher the HCR-trust score the more likely patients will have higher WHOQOL-Physical (β= 0.793, P<0.0001), WHOQOL-Psychological (β= 0.507, P<0.0001), WHOQOL-Social (β= 0.481, P=0.0028), and WHOQOL-Environment (β= 0.515, P<0.0001) domains’ scores.
Conclusion: Diabetic patients’ trust in their healthcare providers was associated with better HRQoL. Therefore, encouraging health care providers to adopt a patient-centered care model that fosters patient trust and results in improved health outcomes is crucial.