The Meaning of Trust in the Relational Context of Long-Term Care: Some Keys to the Transformation of the Care Model in the Basque Country
The results revealed that trust is intersubjectively constructed through four dimensions. 1) Taken-for-granted trust referred to the naturalisation of care in family and gender relations, where care was perceived as a gift and a non-negotiated obligation, mainly of women. 2) A priori generalised trust was developed in proximity community networks and shared representations of the ‘other’ as caregiver. 3) Context-specific trust was built on perceptions of effectiveness, service coverage and good treatment in professional care services, influenced by the institutional context and one's own experiences. Finally, 4) Inner dialogical trust was based on the internal representations that individuals had about themselves and others in the care relationship, emerging from an internal dialogue about expectations, reciprocity and dependency.
This study highlights the importance of the psychosocial framework of trust, as it offers a deeper understanding of the multidimensional complexity of trust across various care contexts. The findings also provide key insights for guiding public policies that aim to enhance interpersonal, community, and institutional relationships—an essential condition for advancing more democratic care practices and perspectives in aging societies.