. 2021 Jun 2;37(5):1108–1114. doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-06928-w

Table 3.

Practices to Increase Cognitive and Affective Trust of Healthcare Professionals in the Inpatient Setting

Dimension	Strategies
Cognitive trust	▪ Emphasize expertise and ability – introduce self and describe credentials upon first visit^{26, 31} ▪ Tell patients they can ask questions³⁰ ▪ Show lab/test results and explain them³⁰ ▪ Provide training for healthcare professionals to increase their skills in this area
Affective trust	▪ Provide patients with emotional support²⁶ ▪ Ensure use of effective communication skills^{27, 28} ▪ Make an effort to relate to patients (e.g., discuss mutual interests)²⁹ ▪ Provide reassurance³⁰ ▪ Ask patients about their preferences³⁰ ▪ Avoid judgmental language and behavior³⁰ ▪ Show the patient you respect them as a person³¹ ▪ Respect patients’ time (e.g., return when you say you will)³¹ ▪ Spend time during initial visit to establish rapport (e.g., act like a guest)³¹ ▪ Provide training for healthcare professionals to increase their skills in this area ▪ Develop job aids (e.g., pocket cards) with tools and phrases for healthcare professionals to use to open up an effective, trusting dialogue

Dimension

Strategies

Cognitive trust

▪ Emphasize expertise and ability – introduce self and describe credentials upon first visit^{26, 31}

▪ Tell patients they can ask questions³⁰

▪ Show lab/test results and explain them³⁰

▪ Provide training for healthcare professionals to increase their skills in this area

Affective trust

▪ Provide patients with emotional support²⁶

▪ Ensure use of effective communication skills^{27, 28}

▪ Make an effort to relate to patients (e.g., discuss mutual interests)²⁹

▪ Provide reassurance³⁰

▪ Ask patients about their preferences³⁰

▪ Avoid judgmental language and behavior³⁰

▪ Show the patient you respect them as a person³¹

▪ Respect patients’ time (e.g., return when you say you will)³¹

▪ Spend time during initial visit to establish rapport (e.g., act like a guest)³¹

▪ Provide training for healthcare professionals to increase their skills in this area

▪ Develop job aids (e.g., pocket cards) with tools and phrases for healthcare professionals to use to open up an effective, trusting dialogue