The effect of the trust communication in the patient-physician relationship and self-efficiency on compliance to treatment

This thesis aims to determine the trust communication in the patient-physician relationship and the patient's self-efficacy on compliance to treatment. In addition, it is aimed to reveal whether the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants create a statistically significant difference in the trust communication in the patient-physician relationship, patients' self-efficacy and patient compliance with treatment. The questionnaire technique was used as data collection tool in the study. The study was applied to 357 patients with any chronic disease who received service between 01.03.2021 and 01.05.2021 from a hospital serving in the field of ophthalmology in Sakarya. In the study, the " Trust Communication in Patient-Physician Relationship Scale" consisting of 22 statements developed by Yılmaz (2005) to measure the trust communication in the patient-physician relationship, and the "Compliance to Treatment Scale" developed by Prenner (2001) to measure the compliance of the patients with the treatment and consisting of 4 statements, "Self-Efficacy Scale" consisting of 5 statements and developed by Lee et al. (2008) to measure perceptions of efficacy and consists of 10 questions to determine the demographic characteristics of the participants. In analyzing the data, validity and reliability analyses were made using IBM SPSS 24.0 and IBM AMOS 21 package programs. In the analysis of the obtained data, descriptive statistical methods, correlation analysis, chi-square analysis, structural equation model (SEM) analysis, independent samples t-test and one-way ANOVA analysis were used. According to the study's findings, there is a positive and significant relationship between trust communication in patient-physician relationship with compliance to treatment and health self-efficacy. In addition, there is a significant and positive relationship between compliance to treatment and health self-efficacy. Trust communication in the patient-physician relationship has a significant effect on health self-efficacy and compliance to treatment. Similarly, participants' health self-efficacy also had a significant impact on their compliance to treatment. In addition, health self-efficacy plays a mediating role in the trust communication in the patient-physician relationship on compliance to treatment. According to the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants, the compliance to treatment differs statistically in terms of gender, marital status, age and educational status. Although there is a difference only in terms of age in the trust communication in the patient-physician relationship, there is no difference in the health self-efficacy according to the socio-demographic characteristics of the participants. As a result, trust communication in the patient-physician relationship is an essential factor in ensuring compliance to treatment and increasing self-efficacy perceptions. For this reason, it is recommended that health administrators create open communication channels that will increase the patient's trust in the physician, improve trust-based communication, and organize awareness-raising training programs for health personnel on effective communication and communication based on trust. In addition, according to the study results, it is appropriate to schedule training that will support individuals with chronic diseases to improve their health self-efficacy.