Attitude and preferences of surgical patients towards female surgeons

ABSTRACT

To assess patient preferences towards gender of operating surgeon so as to predict acceptance of female surgeons in the segment of Pakistani population. Cross sectional survey. Department of Surgery Shifa College of Medicine and Shifa International Hospital Islamabad, from January 2012 to December 2013. Patients of both genders, who were scheduled for any general surgical procedure were included. Patients below 18 year of age were excluded. Questionnaire included statements related to choice of gender of operating surgeon, type of surgery performed, qualification, age, marital status of the patient and area [rural/urban] of origin. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 17. Chi-square test was used for calculating significance of categorical variables. Out of total 324 patients 182[56.2%] were males and 137[42.3%] females. Eight patients did not mention about their gender. Majority [46.6%] of the patients had no preference for gender of the operating surgeon while 113 [34.9%] preferred male surgeons. Fifty-two [16%] however had preference for female surgeons. Slight preponderance was noted for gender preference either male or female. The surgeon gender consideration was only based upon type of the procedure performed