Attitudes to doctors and medicine: a failure to replicate

Objectives: Despite their potential importance in affecting interactions be tween doctors and patients, there have been few attempts to measure attitud es to doctors and medicine. One scale, developed by Marteau, had shown a pr omising factor structure in a UK antenatal setting. The present study asses sed its characteristics in Dublin general practice attenders., Method: patients aged over 16 waiting for a self-initiated consultation wer e recruited. Tho Attitudes to Doctors and Medicine Scale was administered b y interview. Item analysis and factor analysis were used to examine its psy chometric properties. Results: Of 200 respondents, with a median age of 31, 144 were women. Item analysis showed lower reliabilities for the subscales of Marteau's scale th an the original UK study. especially the subscales measuring negative attit udes to doctors and to medicine. Factor analysis failed to confirm a clear- cut distinction between attitudes to doctors, and attitudes to medicine, an d between positive and negative attitudes. Furthermore, factors which loade d in opposite directions in the original UK study loaded in the same direct ion in the Irish sample. Conclusions: The differences found may reflect the differences either in cu lture or setting between the two studies. They strongly suggest that the At titudes to Doctors and Medicine Scale does not have desirable psychometric properties. They also underline the need for a reliable and valid measure o f attitudes to doctors and medicine, and for a more serious research intere st in the area.