Quality of Communication and Trust in Patients With Serious Illness: An Exploratory Study of the Relationships of Race/Ethnicity, Socioeconomic Status, and Religiosity

Contrary to prior studies, racial/ethnic minorities and patients with lower income rated communication higher and reported higher trust in their clinicians than white and higher income patients. More research is needed to identify and understand factors associated with quality communication and trust between seriously ill patients and clinicians to guide development of patient-centered palliative care communication interventions.