title: Construction and validation of a preliminary Chinese version of the Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The development, validation, and psychometric properties of the Wake Forest Physician Trust Scale (WFPTS)-equivalent instrument for Chinese patients were investigated.
  
  
  METHODS
  We approached 3442 randomly selected outpatients at 3 Shanghai (China) general hospitals, treated ≥2 times per year by the same physician, for participation between November 2008 and December 2008. A Chinese version of the WFPTS (C-WFPTS) was prepared and administered to eligible and consenting patients, and subjected to validity assessment using 5 patient behaviors: (1) recommendation of the physician; (2) occurrence of dispute; (3) seeking a second opinion; (4) treatment adherence; and (5) consideration of switching physicians.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 352 (M: F, 149: 203; mean age, 40.67±17.31 years; age range, 14-94 years) consenting and eligible patients were included in the analysis. The unidimensionality and internal consistency of C-WFPTS was confirmed (Cronbach's α=0.833). Physician trust correlated significantly with physician satisfaction (r=0.73, P<0.001) and all 5 behaviors (1: r=0.453, 2: r=0.209, 3: r=0.406, 4: r=0.444, 5: r=0.471; P<0.001 for all), indicating validity and predictive validity, respectively. Patient trust increased significantly with increasing age and physician visits (P>0.05), but was not related to gender, birthplace, or insurance type.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  C-WFPTS has good psychometric properties, reliability, and validity for the evaluation of patient trust in the patient-physician relationship, and thereby provides an essential tool for the characterization of patient-physician relationships in China, which is necessary for healthcare reform.
authors.affiliation: Project Management Office, Shanghai Academy of Health Sciences, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Enhong
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Resource, Zhongshan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: Scientific Research Department, Huashan Hospital Fudan University, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Health Development Research Center of Shanghai, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Xueli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: School of f Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bao
authors.affiliation: Weifang Community Health Service Centers of Shanghai Pudong New Area, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Zhaohui
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Du
authors.affiliation: School of f Public Health, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China (mainland).
authors.forename: Jin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ma
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002681:China; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010820:Physicians; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035502:Trust; D055815:Young Adult