Associations between social capital and trust in general practitioners among the elderly people: Empirical evidence from China. (23rd March 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Zhang, Weiwei; Huang, Yuankai; Zhou, Hongjie; Lin, Guohua; Lu, Mengqing; Xi Lecturer, Xiaoyu
• Is Part Of: Health & social care in the community. Volume 28:Number 5(2020)
• Page Start: 1590
• Page End: 1602
• Publication Date: 2020-03-23
• Subjects: China -- elderly people -- general practitioners -- multilevel model -- social capital -- trust; Public welfare -- Periodicals; Community health services -- Periodicals; Human services -- Periodicals; 362.1
• DOI: 10.1111/hsc.12983
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0966-0410

Abstract

Abstract: Elderly individuals' trust in general practitioners (GPs) is conducive to enhancing their health outcomes and promote healthy ageing. However, this trust has been declining in recent decades. Social capital is associated with patients' trust in healthcare providers in several countries, which make it a potential path for improving the trust of the elderly people in GPs in China, but it is not yet validated. The objective of this study was to explore how social capital influences elderly individuals' trust in GPs in China. The data were collected through a survey conducted with 2, 754 people aged 60 and over in China, 2018. Multilevel regression models were employed to analyse the impact of social capital on the trust of the elderly people in GP in China. The results revealed that individual social capital (ISC) and community social capital (CSC) had significant positive correlations with the trust of the elderly people in GPs in China. In addition, CSC has more impact than ISC on the trust of the elderly people in GP. Additionally, older people, women and patients whose highest level of education was junior high school and who had participated in the New Cooperative Medical Scheme tended to have higher trust in GPs. In conclusion, more social capital, especially CSC, contributed more trust of the elderly people in GPs in China.