Perception of Own Illness and Trust in Medical Personnel among Chronically Ill People

Appropriate perceptions of own disease by chronically ill person significantly affects the success of the diagnostic and therapeutic process. It depends on the existential situation of the patient, the adopted strategy of coping with the disease, received social support, as well as on the way the patient is treated by medical personnel. The aim of the conducted research was to assess the relationship between the perception of the disease by chronically ill people and their trust in medical staff.

The study involved 511 people receiving treatment for chronic diseases. The diagnostic survey method was used in the study, the research tools were: the Imagination and Perception of Illness Scale (IPIS), the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ), the Trust in Physician scale by L.A. Anderson and R.F. Dedrick, and a self-authorship questionnaire.

Among the studied population, statistically significant relationships were observed between the perception of own disease by the patient, measured with the IPIS scale, and the trust in medical personnel calculated with the Trust in Physician. In the study group, there are statistically significant differences between the belief of the respondents in the effectiveness of treating their own disease and the overall result of trust in medical personnel.

The perception of own disease by chronically ill people affects the level of trust in medical staff. The way the patients will perceive their illness depends, among other things, on the relationship between them and the doctor.