Women's perceptions of female general practitioners.

Abstract

AbstractA telephone survey of 250 women, selected at random from the Melbourne telephone directory, was conducted to ascertain perceptions about female general practitioners (GP) by female patients. The three most important factors in choosing a new GP were recommendation, distance and ease of obtaining an appointment. The sex of the GP was only an important factor for a small group of the respondents. The preference for a female doctor was higher if a gynaecological examination or discussion of emotional/personal problems were involved. A majority of respondents perceived no difference in a number of professional attributes. of female and male GPs. Preference (or lack of it) for sex of a new GP was strongly related to sex of current GP. These results reveal a much more favourable disposition by female patients towards female GPs than has been earlier reported. They indicate that the increasing numbers of female GPs in the medical workforce are unlikely to experience any obstacle to their full participation in it arising from the perceptions of their female patients.