Patients’ prevention program commitment: The role of psychological reactance and relationship proneness

Abstract

Prevention programs are critical in the health sector but require voluntary commitment from patients. In this sense, prevention programs share some attributes with relationship marketing programs. Indeed, all patients are not willing to commit and, when they are, they may want to do it via different ways. To better understand the fact that prevention programs are not always successful, a literature review has been conducted and stresses the importance of two key concepts: the psychological reactance (i.e., reluctance to enter a formal contract) and relationship proneness (i.e., willingness to maintain a relationship). A field study (184 respondents) dedicated to a dental network proposing an experimental prevention program demonstrates the benefit of simultaneously accounting for these two concepts to better explain commitment to a prevention program. Psychological reactance reduces the propensity to commit to a prevention program, while anxiety and relationship proneness increase commitment. Trust in the practitioner mediates the effect of relationship proneness on commitment to the prevention program.