title: Obstetricians and gynecologists: which characteristics do Israeli lesbians prefer?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore lesbians' preferences when choosing obstetricians/gynecologists.
  
  
  METHODS
  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.
  
  
  RESULTS
  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 (P < 0.001). More lesbians (56%) preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists compared to heterosexuals (21%) (P < 0.001). When compared to heterosexuals, more lesbians preferred female obstetricians/gynecologists for intimate and non-intimate procedures (P < 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 (P < 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.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  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.
authors.affiliation: Sara Racine IVF Unit, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Lis Maternity Hospital, Tel Aviv, Israel.
authors.forename: Hadar
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amir
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gophen
authors.forename: Yifat
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amir Levy
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hasson
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gordon
authors.forename: Ami
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amit
authors.forename: Foad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Azem
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006176:Gynecology; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007557:Israel; D008875:Middle Aged; D009774:Obstetrics; D057240:Patient Preference; D010551:Personality; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012737:Sex Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: characteristics; gender; lesbians; obstetricians/gynecologists; tolerance