Interventions that increase access to care for Latinos lack to account for how trust in healthcare providers impact the usage of expanded access. This thesis looks to identify the levels of trust among US Latinos in health care providers, and how those levels of trust impact quality of care and health outcomes. It will start with a detailed explanation of key terms that will be used throughout the text. Next, an overview of the health profile of US Latinos is presented to pinpoint where health inequities exist. After, it will provide historical context on why mistrust in medical providers might exist amongst US Latinos today. It will then look to establish the levels of trust in health care providers among Latinos currently living within the United States, relative to other racial and ethnic groups. Lastly, it will analyze how those levels of trust impact health behaviors, health outcomes, and quality of care for Latinos.

Romantic relationship research has focused on various characteristics of individual and partner dynamics including intimacy and trust which are important aspects of relationship success. High levels of intimacy in relationships is associated with commitment, passion, psychosocial identity, and lower self-consciousness. Similarly, trust involves the perception of stability and consistency in partner behavior that is in accordance with one’s best interests. Another aspect of romantic relationships that has been heavily researched is attachment style which has been shown to strongly influence how partners behave in relationships. Couples that face relationship challenges have been found to benefit from dance and movement therapy. Current research does not investigate the interactions of all of these facets of relationships and how they might be improved. Therefore, the present study strives to explore how established research on trust, intimacy, and attachment style can be used to improve relationships in the context of dance and movement. The experimental group consisted of 7 couples who participated in partnership dance lessons over the course of one month. The control group consisted of 9 couples who did not participate in the classes. We predicted that partnership dance classes would increase intimacy and trust in couples. We also investigated how attachment style might be implicated in this change. Results show a significant increase in intimacy for participants in the experimental group who participated in partnership dance classes. There was no significant increase in trust. While some participants did change attachment style throughout the study, the majority of participants retained their attachment style from the beginning of the study. Future research should focus on what types of dance are most beneficial for romantic couples, coding participant emotions during the dance class, and how the approach to teaching impacts participants’ experience.