Skip to main content
PMC home page
The British Journal of General Practice logoLink to The British Journal of General Practice
. 1994 May;44(382):205–210.

Consultations for women's health problems: factors influencing women's choice of sex of general practitioner.

A van den Brink-Muinen 1, D H de Bakker 1, J M Bensing 1
PMCID: PMC1238867  PMID: 8204333

Abstract

AIM. This study set out to examine the degree to which women choose to visit a woman doctor for women's health problems and the determinants of this choice. The differences between women and men doctors with regard to treating women's health problems were also studied. METHOD. Data from the Dutch national survey of general practice were used. All group practices with both women and men general practitioners were selected. Analyses were restricted to consultations among women aged 15-65 years about menstruation, the menopause, vaginal discharge, breast examination and cervical smear tests. RESULts. Given the size of their female practice population, women doctors saw considerably more women with women's health problems than did their male colleagues. Women were more likely to consult a woman general practitioner if she was more available (that is, working longer hours), and younger women were more likely than older women to choose women general practitioners. Sex differences in the treatment of women's health problems were small and mainly related to the verbal part of the consultation: counselling and providing information. The doctors' availability and their certainty about the working diagnosis explained differences in the verbal aspects of consultations. Women general practitioners had longer consultations than their male colleagues mainly because more health problems were presented per consultation. CONCLUSION. In order to increase the possibility of patients choosing women general practitioners, policy should be directed towards the education of more women general practitioners and women general practitioners should be encouraged to work more days a week.

Full text

PDF
205

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Ackerman-Ross F. S., Sochat N. Close encounters of the medical kind: attitudes toward male and female physicians. Soc Sci Med. 1980 Jan;14A(1):61–64. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bensing J. M., van den Brink-Muinen A., de Bakker D. H. Gender differences in practice style: a Dutch study of general practitioners. Med Care. 1993 Mar;31(3):219–229. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199303000-00004. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Cooke M., Ronalds C. Women doctors in urban general practice: the doctors. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Mar 9;290(6470):755–758. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6470.755. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Cooke M., Ronalds C. Women doctors in urban general practice: the patients. Br Med J (Clin Res Ed) 1985 Mar 9;290(6470):753–755. doi: 10.1136/bmj.290.6470.753. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Fennema K., Meyer D. L., Owen N. Sex of physician: patients' preferences and stereotypes. J Fam Pract. 1990 Apr;30(4):441–446. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Graffy J. Patient choice in a practice with men and women general practitioners. Br J Gen Pract. 1990 Jan;40(330):13–15. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Haar E., Halitsky V., Stricker G. Factors related to the preference for a female gynecologist. Med Care. 1975 Sep;13(9):782–790. doi: 10.1097/00005650-197509000-00008. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Haar E., Halitsky V., Stricker G. Patients' attitudes toward gynecologic examination and to gynecologists. Med Care. 1977 Sep;15(9):787–795. doi: 10.1097/00005650-197709000-00006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hopkins E. J., Pye A. M., Solomon M., Solomon S. The relation of patients age, sex and distance from surgery to the demand on the family doctor. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1968 Nov;16(5):368–378. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Kelly J. M. Sex preference in patient selection of a family physician. J Fam Pract. 1980 Sep;11(3):427–433. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Kletke P. R., Marder W. D., Silberger A. B. The growing proportion of female physicians: implications for US physician supply. Am J Public Health. 1990 Mar;80(3):300–304. doi: 10.2105/ajph.80.3.300. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Maheux B., Dufort F., Béland F., Jacques A., Lévesque A. Female medical practitioners. More preventive and patient oriented? Med Care. 1990 Jan;28(1):87–92. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Nichols S. Women's preferences for sex of doctor: a postal survey. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1987 Dec;37(305):540–543. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Ogle K. S., Henry R. C., Durda K., Zivick J. D. Gender-specific differences in family practice graduates. J Fam Pract. 1986 Oct;23(4):357–360. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Oppenheimer C., Catalan J. Counselling for sexual problems. Ethical issues and decision-making. Practitioner. 1981 Nov;225(1361):1623–1633. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Petravage J. B., Reynolds L. J., Gardner H. J., Reading J. C. Attitudes of women toward the gynecologic examination. J Fam Pract. 1979 Dec;9(6):1039–1045. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Preston-Whyte M. E., Fraser R. C., Beckett J. L. Effect of a principal's gender on consultation patterns. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1983 Oct;33(255):654–658. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Roter D., Lipkin M., Jr, Korsgaard A. Sex differences in patients' and physicians' communication during primary care medical visits. Med Care. 1991 Nov;29(11):1083–1093. doi: 10.1097/00005650-199111000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Wakeford R. E., Warren V. J. Women doctors' career choice and commitment to medicine: implications for general practice. J R Coll Gen Pract. 1989 Mar;39(320):91–95. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Weyrauch K. F., Boiko P. E., Alvin B. Patient sex role and preference for a male or female physician. J Fam Pract. 1990 May;30(5):559–562. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The British Journal of General Practice are provided here courtesy of Royal College of General Practitioners

RESOURCES