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Gender Differences in Physician-Patient CommunicationEvidence From Pediatric Visits
Jane Bernzweig, PhD;
John I. Takayama, MD, MPH;
Ciaran Phibbs, PhD;
Catherine Lewis, PhD;
Robert H. Pantell, MD
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151(6):586-591.
Abstract
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Objective
To determine whether physician gender and patient gender influence the process of communication and parent and child satisfaction during pediatric office visits.
Design
Content analysis of videotaped pediatric office visits.
Setting
University-based pediatric primary care practice.
Subjects
Videotaped communication between 212 children, ages 4 to 14 years, parents, and physicians. Thirty-eight percent were child health supervision visits, and 62% were for the management of minor or chronic illnesses.
Main Outcome Measures
An established coding system of physician-patient communication and measures of parent and child satisfaction with medical care.
Results
Female physician visits were 29% longer than those of male physicians (P<.001). Compared with male physicians, female physicians engaged in more social exchange (P<.01), more encouragement and reassurance (P<.01), more communication during the physical examination (P<.05), and more information gathering (P<.01) with children. Male and female physicians engaged in similar amounts of discussions regarding illness management. Children were more satisfied with physicians of the same gender (P<.05), while parents were more satisfied with female physicians (P<.05).
Conclusions
Children communicate more with female than with male physicians and show preferences for physicians of the same gender. These findings are consistent with communication patterns in adult patients and may have a significant influence on gender disparities in health care. Efforts at improving the process and outcome of medical care should address gender differences.
Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1997;151:586-591
Author Affiliations
From the Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco (Drs Bernzweig, Takayama, and Pantell), the Center for Health Evaluation, Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System and Department of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University, Palo Alto, Calif (Dr Phibbs), and the Developmental Studies Center, Oakland, Calif (Dr Lewis).
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