Expectations and their influencing factors of gynecological examination among female physical examination population / 中华健康管理学杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the expectations and their influencing factors of gynecological examination among female physical examination population.Methods:Convenience sampling method was used to select women undergoing gynecological examinations in the health management center of the Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University between April to June 2021. A face to face interview was conducted with a 20-item structured questionnaire including general information, the women?s feelings about a gynecological examination, expectations of doctors, preferences for the doctor ?s gender, and the presence of chaperones in male doctor examination scenarios. Of the 1 600 questionnaires distributed, 1 583 were valid, with a recovery rate of 98.93%. To compare the preferences for a doctor ?s gender and chaperones with different demographic characteristics, an χ2 test was used. Logistic regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of preferences for doctors ?gender and for chaperones. Results:For a gynecological examination, women were mainly worried about the possibility of bad results (77.4%), while the main expectation to doctors was communication before the examination (49.2%); most women wanted to be examined by a female doctor (85.5%), mainly because they felt relaxed (76.0%); most women did not want chaperones when examined by a female doctor (56.5%), while most of them preferred to be accompanied by a nurse when examined by a male doctor (50.1%). Women whose family income was lower than expenditure and had gynecological examination experiences with male doctors tended to have no preference for a doctor ?s gender. Additionally, there was a strong inverse association between the education level and likelihood of no preference for a doctor ?s gender, that is, the lower the education level, the more likely they were to have no preference for the doctor ?s gender ( P<0.05), when examined by a male doctor. Furthermore, women older than 55 years and who had a gynecological examination more than twice a year, was less likely to need chaperones, while women who had gynecological examination experience with male doctors tended to have no preference for chaperones. Conclusions:Women preferred gynecological examinations to be performed by female doctors who provide gentle and companion staff support during the examinations. Education level, family income, and examination experience of male doctors are the influencing factors for gender preferences of a doctor. Age, examination frequency, and examination experience of male doctors are the influencing factors affecting the preferences of choosing an accompanying person.