Trust and empathy constitute basic elements of healthcare delivery. In recent years, the quest for greater efficiency in healthcare has also indicated the necessity of these values. The study aims to develop and assess a 10-item tool, namely, the Personal Trust and Connections (PerTC) scale. The study was conducted at a general hospital in eastern Crete, Greece. A total of 218 healthcare professionals participated over a six-week period in 2021. The 10-item PerTC scale encompasses emotional, social, and cognitive reliance variables. The scale was tested for reliability, and scale scores were assessed for convergent validity. PerTC scale was found with high internal consistency (Cronbach's α = 0.863). At a multivariate level, younger age (p = 0.016), more work experience years (p = 0.001), the experience of a recent family crisis event (p = 0.028), and use of the internet in free time (p = 0.028) were significantly related to increased total scores of the PerTC scale. The new scale is an easy-to-use metric tool with good overall reliability. PerTC may be a suitable instrument to indirectly identify determinants and drivers in order to explore pathways to collectively build on trustful interaction and altruistic connection within a healthcare environment.
Keywords: healthcare professionals; partnership; psychometrics; scale assessment; trust.