Truck and Barter

“A recent study in Brazil found that women spent longer in consultation with each child under five years of age (an additional minute, on average) than their male counterparts, even adjusting for other determinants of time inputs such as patient loads. The difference was more pronounced for providers trained in the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness protocols, suggesting that the influence of training might also differ according to the sex of the practitioner.

In the United States, women were more likely to undergo screening with Pap smears and mammograms if they were seen by female physicians, and this was more evident with internists and family doctors than with specialist obstetricians and gynaecologists. Female patients, especially those seeking gynaecological and obstetric advice, reported greater satisfaction with female than male physicians.

Taken together, these findings suggest that certain aspects of the care rendered by women health workers can, in specific circumstances, be more responsive to the needs of patients than the care provided by male physicians. These differences could be important for the development of the health workforce, but need to be better understood.”

-page 71, The World Health Report 2006 - working together for health

So next time you visit the doctor, remember that.