Does gender matter in doctor–patient communication during standard gynaecological consultations? An analysis using mixed methods

Authors

  • Maria Angela Mazzi University of Verona
  • Michela Rimondini University of Verona
  • Myriam Deveugele University of Ghent
  • Christa Zimmermann University of Verona
  • Giuseppe Deledda Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria
  • Jozien Bensing Utrecht University; NIVEL

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/cam.v11i3.24806

Keywords:

doctor-patient communication, analogue patients, gender, gender role expectation, mixed methods

Abstract

This paper assesses whether gender plays a role when male and female participants discuss the quality of doctor–patient communication in gynaecological consultations. A European multi-centre study was conducted comprising 259 participants in 35 gender- and country-specific focus groups. In all focus groups, a set of four videotaped Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) consultations was used as a prompt for discussion. The doctors’ ability in communication was assessed by participants’ ratings and by a quantified content analysis of their comments, using a mixed-method approach. Gender analysis was performed applying a set of generalized linear regression models. The findings indicated that gender differences were smaller than expected. The individual ratings of the overall quality of communication were similar for male and female participants, and there were hardly any differences in the content of the discussions. The only two exceptions were that female doctors were criticized more than male doctors when they made impersonal comments and that female participants were more outspoken than men, positively and negatively. The prevalence of gender similarities suggests that doctors’ empathy, support, understanding and pleasantness are highly appreciated by both male and female participants and appear to transcend gender differences.

Author Biographies

  • Maria Angela Mazzi, University of Verona
    Maria Angela Mazzi is Statistician at the university of Verona. her research interests include the statistical approach to doctor–patient communication in medicine and psychiatry (validation of measurement instruments, sequence analysis, multilevel analysis, mixed-method approach) and experimental studies to evaluate psychosocial interventions (rCt).
  • Michela Rimondini, University of Verona
    Michela Rimondini is assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology at the university of Verona. her research interests include the assessment of patient–provider interactions in medicine, the design and evaluation of training courses in patient-centred interviewing, and the qualitative and quantitative assessment of patients’ views on communication in medicine.
  • Myriam Deveugele, University of Ghent
    Myriam Deveugele is Professor in Communication in health Care at the university of ghent. She is coordinator of a research unit focusing on topics such as quality of communication in the medical encounter, end-of-life communication and intercultural communication issues in medicine
  • Christa Zimmermann, University of Verona
    Christa Zimmermann is Professor of Clinical Psychology at the university of Verona. her current research interest is in patient–health-provider communication, particularly regarding patients’ cue and concerns indicating emotional distress and health-provider responses, and the informative and emotional needs of breast cancer patients and psychiatric patients.
  • Giuseppe Deledda, Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria
    Giuseppe Deledda is Clinical Psychologist and head of the Psychological Service at the Ospedale Sacro Cuore Don Calabria in negrar (Verona). his research interests include the emotional and informative needs of oncological patients and the evaluation of their effect on psychotherapeutic group interventions for oncology patients on diet, physical activity and coping
  • Jozien Bensing, Utrecht University; NIVEL
    Jozien Bensing is Full Professor of health Psychology at utrecht university and honorary research Fellow on Communication and health Psychology at nIVEL. her current research topics include: placebo effects, therapy adherence and communication in healthcare, with particular focus on innovative ways of assessing patient–provider interaction from the patient’s point of view

Published

2014-04-27

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Mazzi, M. A., Rimondini, M., Deveugele, M., Zimmermann, C., Deledda, G., & Bensing, J. (2014). Does gender matter in doctor–patient communication during standard gynaecological consultations? An analysis using mixed methods. Communication and Medicine, 11(3), 285–298. https://doi.org/10.1558/cam.v11i3.24806

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