What Factors Are Associated With Trust and Experience With the Clinician?

Among 173 patients seeking musculoskeletal specialty care, we sought patient personal factors associated with patient experiences measured using the 7-item Trust and Experience with Clinicians Scale (TRECS-7) and Jefferson Scale of Patient's Perceptions of Physician Empathy (JSPPPE). Accounting for potential confounders, including demographics, visit-related information, mental health, and social health, we found no factors associated with TRECS-7, and only self-reported Hispanic/Latino ethnicity was associated with lower JSPPPE (regression coefficient = -2.8, 95% confidence interval = -4.9 to -0.63). In posthoc cluster analysis, statistical groupings of patients with generally worse mean social health and mental health were associated with worse patient experience (TRECS-7 and JSPPPE). The combination of an experience measure with lower ceiling effects and wider distribution of scores and cluster analysis may improve the ability to measure associations with patient personal factors.