Multiple surveys have been administered to patients regarding their preference for a male or female obstetrician gynecologist (OB/GYN). The results of these studies are heterogeneous. No prior conglomerate analysis has been yet conducted.
Data Source: We searched PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Scopus and references of relevant articles. Methods of Study Selection and Selection Criteria: We reviewed 4,822 electronically identified citations. Only English-language studies were included. Studies included were surveys administered to patients that specifically asked the gender preference of their Ob/Gyn provider.
Tabulation, Integration, and Results: Twenty-three studies met inclusion criteria including 14,736 patients. Overall 8.3% (95% CI: 0.08–0.09) of patients reported a preference for a male Ob/Gyn provider, 50.2% (95% CI: 0.49–0.51) preferred a female provider and 41.3% (95% CI: 0.40–0.42) reported no gender preference. A sub-analysis of studies conducted in the United States from 1999 onward demonstrated (n=9861) that 8.4% (95% CI: 0.08–0.09) preferred a male provider, 53.2% (95% CI: 0.52–0.54) preferred a female provider and 38.5% (95% CI: 0.38–0.39) reported no gender preference. In the United States sub-analysis the mean differences for the preference of female providers over a male provider was statistically significant (P<.01) however no significance (P>.05) was identified comparing the preference for a female provider to “no gender preference.”
The majority of women surveyed reported to prefer a female over a male Ob/Gyn. There appears to be no significant difference in specific preference for a female provider over “no specific gender preference.”
Womack Army Medical Center, Fort Bragg NC; Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
Financial Disclosure: The authors did not report any potential conflicts of interest.
