title: Unpredicted gender preference of obstetricians and gynecologists by Muslim Israeli-Arab women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the gender preference of Muslim Israeli-Arab women regarding obstetricians/gynecologists, and identify other features that affect their choice.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study included 167 responders to an anonymous questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Around one-half of the responders had no gender preference regarding family physicians, but most (76.6%) preferred a female gynecologist. Likewise, most responders preferred pelvic examinations (85.6%) and pregnancy follow-up (77.8%) by female gynecologists. Additionally, 61.7% preferred consulting female physicians for major obstetrical and gynecological (OB/GYN) problems. The reasons for female preference were embarrassment (67.7%), feeling comfortable with female gynecologists (80.8%) and the notion that female gynecologists are more gentle (68.3%). The three most important factors which affected actual selection, however, were experience (83.8%), knowledge (70.1%) and ability (50.3%), rather than physician gender (29.3%). Multivariate analysis revealed that other qualities and importance of background variables of the gynecologist were independent predictors of gender preference.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although Muslim Arab-Israeli women express gender bias regarding their preference for gynecologists/obstetricians, personal and professional skills are considered to be more important factors when it comes to actually making a choice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We suggest that the ideal obstetrician/gynecologist for these women would be female, though skilled, knowledgeable, and experienced male would be appropriate.
authors.affiliation: Sara Racine IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel. amirha@bgumail.bgu.ac.il
authors.forename: Hadar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amir
authors.forename: Yumna
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tibi
authors.forename: Asnat
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Groutz
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amit
authors.forename: Foad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Azem
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018912:Arabs; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002983:Clinical Competence; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology; D006801:Humans; D007514:Islam; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D009774:Obstetrics; D010358:Patient Participation; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010822:Physicians, Women; D011247:Pregnancy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult