title: Examining rheumatoid arthritis patients' trust in their provider over time: the effects of demographic factors and accessing sources of information.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients who trust their providers have better health outcomes; a trusting patient-provider relationship is needed for optimal management of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a chronic autoimmune disease.
  An observational study design (N = 100 RA patients) was used to:
  
  
  RESULTS
  : Patients' trust in their providers decreased over time. Less-educated persons and those who accessed information from the Internet reported less trust in their providers. Patients who consulted a larger number of information sources rated trust in their provider more positively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  RA patients' trust in providers is a dynamic construct influenced by education and health information.
authors.affiliation: Elizabeth Salt, PhD, APRN, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington; and Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Mary Kay Rayens, PhD, Professor, College of Nursing, University of Kentucky, Lexington, Kentucky. Anna M. Kerr, MA, PhD, Department of Communication, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Mujahed Alikhan, MD, Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Kentucky, Lexington. Leslie J. Crofford, MD, Chief, Division of Rheumatology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Salt
authors.forename: Mary Kay
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Rayens
authors.forename: Anna M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Kerr
authors.forename: Mujahed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alikhan
authors.forename: Leslie J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Crofford
mesh_terms: D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003710:Demography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D008297:Male; D035502:Trust