Sex preferences for colonoscopists and GI physicians among patients and health care professionals.

BACKGROUND

There are indications that many women prefer female health care providers.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether (1) patients and health care professionals have sex preferences for gastroenterologists (for office visit and colonoscopy) and (2) the reasons behind these preferences.

DESIGN

Prospective survey.

SETTING

Patients from primary care clinics at a Veterans Affairs and a community hospital and health care professionals.

PATIENTS

A total of 1364 individuals completed the survey: 840 patients (566 men and 274 women) and 524 health care professionals (211 men and 313 women).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS

Sex preferences for colonoscopists and gastroenterologists at a clinic.

RESULTS

Women had a stronger sex preference (compared with no preference) for an office visit with a gastroenterologist (44.3%) and for a colonoscopist (53%) than men (23% and 27.8% respectively; P < .001). For health care professionals, there was a significant difference in sex preferences for women and men for a gastroenterologist office visit (30.4% vs 17.6%; P < .001) and for a colonoscopist (43.1% vs 26.1%; P < .001). Of all respondents with a sex preference, the most common reason was embarrassment for both office visit and colonoscopy. For all respondents with a sex preference for colonoscopy, a higher level of education was an independent predictor of patients feeling embarrassed (P = .003).

LIMITATIONS

Single city, patient population from only 2 institutions.

CONCLUSIONS

Female patients and female health care professionals have sex preferences in choosing a gastroenterologist for an office visit and colonoscopy, and the reasons for this are significantly influenced by their level of education.