Understanding African Americans' Views of the Trustworthiness of Physicians

We asked over 60 African‐American men and women to join in group discussions in which they were asked what made them trust and distrust physicians. They indicated that physician caring and ability to diagnose and treat disease were the most important for trust. Lack of caring or ability to best treat patients, perceived greed, and expectations of racism and experimentation during routine provision of health care resulted in distrust of physicians. In addition they talked about how trust in physicians helped them feel comfortable seeking care and accepting doctors' recommendations and that distrust had the opposite effect.