Obstetricians and gynecologists: Which characteristics do Israeli lesbians prefer?. Issue 2 (17th September 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Amir, Hadar; Gophen, Ruth; Amir Levy, Yifat; Hasson, Joseph; Gordon, David; Amit, Ami; Azem, Foad
• Is Part Of: Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology research. Volume 41:Issue 2(2015:Feb.)
• Page Start: 283
• Page End: 293
• Publication Date: 2014-09-17
• Subjects: Gynecology -- Periodicals; Obstetrics -- Periodicals; 618.1005
• DOI: 10.1111/jog.12512
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1341-8076

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="jog12512-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Aim</title> <p>The aim of this study was to explore lesbians' preferences when choosing obstetricians/gynecologists.</p> </sec> <sec id="jog12512-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Material and Methods</title> <p>This cross‐sectional study included 100 lesbian and 100 heterosexual women. A 40‐item questionnaire assessed the correlation between a patient's sexual identity and her specific preferences for obstetricians/gynecologists.</p> </sec> <sec id="jog12512-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>The top five most important parameters for both groups in choosing obstetricians/gynecologists overlapped greatly. Four of those were experience, ability, knowledge and personality. Only one parameter differed: lesbians ranked 'sexually tolerant' as the third most important characteristic while heterosexuals ranked 'availability' as the fifth most important characteristic. Lesbians rated 'sexual tolerance' significantly higher than heterosexuals (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001). More lesbians (56%) preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists compared to heterosexuals (21%) (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001). When compared to heterosexuals, more lesbians preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists for intimate and non‐intimate procedures (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001). But within the lesbian population, a higher percentage of subjects showed a preference for female obstetricians/gynecologists only for intimate procedures. Lesbians used the following to describe their preference for female obstetricians/gynecologists: feeling more comfortable; gentle; sympathetic; patient; more understanding of women's health; better physicians in general; and more sexually tolerant (<italic>P</italic> < 0.001 vs heterosexual). However, when we looked only at the lesbian population, the majority did not exhibit a preference for a female obstetrician/gynecologist for any of these reasons. The main reason given by the 56% of the lesbians who said they prefer female obstetricians/gynecologists was feeling more comfortable.</p> </sec> <sec id="jog12512-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusion</title> <p>Overwhelmingly lesbians prefer sexually tolerant obstetricians/gynecologists regardless of their gender; however, only a small number of lesbian subjects in this study considered their obstetricians/gynecologists as displaying this characteristic.</p> </sec> </abstract>