Gender Effects in Physician/Patient Interaction

Abstract

Women patients’ relationships with their personal health providers has become an issue of growing interest for a number of reasons. Because of their longevity advantage, women represent an increasingly greater proportion of the adult population. Above and beyond seeking reproduction-related care and accompanying their offspring to the doctor, they are greater utilizers than men of physician services. Women also have higher rates of morbidity, including acute, chronic, and disabling conditions. In addition, the quality of physicians’ care for female patients is a major issue for feminist health advocates (Schiefelbein, 1980; Hing, Kovar, and Rice, 1983; Nathanson, 1984; Verbrugge, 1985; Waldron, 1985).