The Role of Doctor's Authority in Patients' Treatment Decisions

Abstract

Objectives: In this study, I aimed to find empirical support for the increasingly frequent assumption about the regulatory potential of legitimacy with regard to people's health behaviors. The research determined the effect of legitimacy on 3 crucial health behaviors. It also tested whether patients' perception of doctors as competent played a role in the recognition of doctors' legitimacy. Methods: The study included 210 participants, patients of independent primary healthcare facilities and specialist hospital outpatient clinics. The collected empirical data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). I tested 6 SEM models. Results: The study supported the main hypothesized relationship, showing that legitimacy was a factor increasing compliance with medical advice and regulating the treatment process. It also supported the relationship, postulated in the second hypothesis, between doctor's perceived competence and the perceived legitimacy of healthcare institutions. Conclusions: The results of analyses indicate that the perception of a healthcare institution as trustworthy and patients' recognition of the legitimacy of doctors' authority increases their willingness to voluntarily comply with medical advice and continue treatment.