Stuttering Impact and Patient Trust in Indian Health Care: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Purpose: This study aims to determine the relationship between (a) stuttering impact and trust in the health care system and (b) stuttering impact and trust in physicians among persons who stutter in India. Method: This quantitative study utilized cross-sectional electronic surveys to assess the experiences of 118 adults who stutter in India. The surveys queried (a) stuttering impact, (b) trust in the health care system, and (c) trust in physicians. Results: Stuttering impact is strongly negatively associated with trust in the health care system ( r = −.940, p ≤ .0001, R 2 = .885) and strongly negatively associated with trust in physicians ( r = −.941, p ≤ .0001, R 2 = .885). Controlling for age, gender, and income does not affect these relationships. Conclusions: The strongly significant associations found in this study between stuttering impact and trust call attention to how interrelated stuttering experiences are with trust in health care. Speech-language pathologists around the globe may wish to discuss how stuttering might affect health care experiences with their clients who stutter to build rapport, to advocate for people who stutter, and to better support their health professional colleagues.