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Physician gender and women's preventive services
S D Cassard1, C S Weisman, S B Plichta
1Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
Journal of Women'S Health
|April 1, 1997
Summary
Physician gender has a limited impact on women receiving preventive care. While women physicians may increase Pap smear and cholesterol test rates, physician specialty is a stronger predictor of service receipt.
Area of Science:
- Women's Health
- Preventive Medicine
- Healthcare Disparities
Background:
- Understanding factors influencing women's access to preventive healthcare is crucial.
- Physician characteristics, including gender, may impact patient care and service utilization.
- Previous research has explored physician specialty but less so the effect of physician gender on preventive service delivery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between the gender of women's regular physicians and their receipt of key preventive services.
- To control for physician specialty when examining the impact of physician gender on preventive care utilization.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional, nationally representative telephone survey of 2,525 women aged 18 and older was conducted.
- Data were collected on the receipt of five key preventive services: blood pressure reading, Pap smear, cholesterol test, clinical breast examination, and mammogram.
- Statistical analyses controlled for physician specialty to isolate the effect of physician gender.
Main Results:
- Physician gender significantly influenced the receipt of Pap smears and cholesterol tests, with women patients of female family/general practitioners being more likely to receive these services.
- Women patients of female internists were more likely to receive Pap tests.
- Physician gender was associated with increased mammography rates in women aged 40-49 seen by female family/general practitioners, but did not affect blood pressure screening or breast examination receipt.
Conclusions:
- Evidence suggests a limited but notable effect of physician gender on women's receipt of certain preventive services, particularly Pap smears and cholesterol tests.
- Physician specialty emerged as a more significant predictor of preventive service utilization compared to physician gender.
- The findings are relevant for women who regularly see family/general practitioners or internists, highlighting a potential benefit of female physicians for specific screenings.