Patient Trust in Healthcare System

Participants expressed high trust in the Norwegian public healthcare system. Receiving oral information from doctors created a sense of being cared for that reduced pre-procedural stress and anxiety. Healthcare professionals called for ethics oversight, staff training, and more government transplant centres. The study situates patients' passive decision making within broader literature showing that treatment preferences are heavily influenced by perception of healthcare providers' recommendations. Trust caused many participants to deprioritise engagement with health information, relying instead on clinicians to make the right decision. Even when explicitly told a decision was theirs to make, many patients deferred to the clinical team's recommendation. Distrust of hospitals, doctors, and the health system was a widespread barrier to deceased organ donation. Participants feared donated organs might be wasted, sold, or procured through compromised care. Healthcare professionals were reluctant to approach families for consent because they feared harming relationships with relatives. The public expected doctors to educate families and support informed decision-making.