Female Patient Preferences Regarding Physician Gender; is There a Difference? A National Survey
Conditions: Female Patient Preference
Sponsor: TriHealth Inc.

Physician Preference     1 
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RESEARCH PROTOCOL 
 
Date 
 5-15-19 
Title 
Female Patient Preferences regarding Physician Gender; is there a 
difference? A National Survey 
Principal Investigator 
Rachel Pauls, MD 
Sub-Investigators 
Tiffanie Tam, MD; Austin Hill, MD 
Research Specialist 
Eunsun Yook, MS 
Department 
Female Pelvic Medicine and Reproductive Surgery   
Hatton # 
18-113 
 
IRB Review Type: 
 
 Exempt 
 
Expedited  
 Full Board 
 
Purpose of Study    
o Primary Aim: To describe female patient preferences when choosing their 
OB/GYN and other providers. 
o Secondary Aim:  
o To assess these preferences based on patient demographic factors as well as 
physician specialty. 
o To assess qualities which are most important to female patients when choosing a 
physician.  
 
Hypothesis or Research Question  
• We hypothesize that females are not more likely to choose a female physician, in 
particular for their OB/GYN care 
 
Background   
In 2017, the AAMC published that the number of women accepted into US medical schools 
increased by 3.2% and the female students represented 50.7% of the new enrollees [1]. This 
represents a dramatic increase in female trainees over the past decade.  Furthermore, the 
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) published that as of 2009, 79.7% 
of the Obstetrics and Gynecology residents were female [2]. This gender disparity could be 
related to perceived limitations in practice, leading to fewer males selecting this specialty.  
 
Nevertheless, it is not clear that females have strong preferences regarding gender.  One study 
revealed that 34% of women preferred females because they were “more comfortable” and 
“easier to talk to”, 58% had no preference and only 7% preferred male providers because they 
were “more gentle” and “more compassionate” [3, 4]. Another study reported that of the 
qualities when choosing an OB/GYN, it was experience, knowledge and ability that were what 
patients looked for over 15.7% reporting gender was a role in choice of physician [3].  
 
The overall conclusion drawn from these studies was that female physician choice is less based 
on gender preference and more on characteristic qualities [2-5]. However, women aged ≤25 

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preferred a female physician versus women 42.4 years and older [3, 7]. This data collected was 
published more than 10 years ago. Given the striking decline in male providers selecting 
OB/GYN in more recent years, it is critical to characterize patient preferences in the current 
environment. We hope to better understand the influence of bias on physician gender in 
present day. 
 
Research Plan   
• Study Design  
This will be a cross sectional survey conducted via an online server 
• Setting for the study 
The study will be conducted on an online platform distributed across the United States 
by the aid of Survey Monkey  
• Participants 
o Study population: All women between 18 and 80 years of age residing in the USA  
o Inclusion/Exclusion criteria: 
▪ Inclusion 
• Females between 18 and 80 years of age (this will be selected 
during the target population inquiry within the survey limits)  
▪ Exclusion 
• Unwillingness to participate in the study 
• Lack of access to the internet  
• Non-English speaking  
▪ Sample size 
• We hope to gather 1000 responses from females across the U.S. 
• SurveyMonkey® will use their databank to recruit enough 
panelists for obtaining 1000 responses.  
• Data Collection 
o Primary Outcome:  
▪ Describe female population preferences based on physician gender 
o Secondary Outcomes:  
▪ Describe qualities that female patients use to choose physicians 
▪ Describe if physician specialty plays a role in choice  
▪ Describe demographic factors that may predict patient preferences, such 
as age, race, socioeconomic factors 
o General demographic data: 
▪ Age, ethnicity, religion, parity, income level, education level, marital 
status, medical insurance status, number of regularly seen providers  
 
• Intervention or experimental aspect of the study 
o Procedure 

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▪ Study group will be surveyed online using Survey Monkey using the 
Physician Preference Survey designed by the investigators. 
 
• Statistical Analysis 
• Demographic data will be described using frequency (percentage). The association 
between the preference on physician gender and demographic factors will be 
assessed by Pearson’s chi-square test. Logistic regression will be used to investigate 
whether the preference on physician gender can be predicted based on a 
demographic factor(s).  
 
Ethical Considerations 
• Informed consent  
o By completing the survey patients will consent to participating in the study.  
A waiver of documentation of informed consent will be requested.  
• Privacy information 
o Because this is an online anonymous conducted survey, there will be no 
available identifying information.  
o Participants however, will be logged in the Excel spreadsheet and assigned a 
Subject ID number. Each participant will be assigned the next available 
Subject ID number. Once each Subject ID number has been assigned, it will 
not be reassigned. The Excel spreadsheet will be stored on a password 
protected, encrypted TriHealth computer for ten years following study 
closure, and then purged. 
 
Cost/Budget 
Item 
Qty 
Cost per Item 
Total 
Survey Monkey Responses 
needed  
1000 
$2.50 
$2500.00 
Unlimited questions with 
Advantage plan  
20 
0 
0 
Survey Monkey Advantage Plan 
1 
Paid by Hatton 
Account 
0 
Total  
  
$2500.00  
 
 
Estimated Period of Time to Complete Study 
When will study begin? 
January 15th, 2019 
Protocol Development 
Completed 
November 30rd , 2018  

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Admin Review Time 
2 weeks   
IRB Approval 
December 18, 2018  
Data collection 
Subjects to be enrolled starting January 15th, 2019 
Data analysis 
February 2019 
 
• When and how will results be disseminated? 
▪ Submit for abstract presentation at national/international meeting and 
publication 
 
 
References 
[1] “More Women Than Men Enrolled in U.S. Medical Schools in 2017.” AAMCNews, 18 Dec. 
2017, news.aamc.org/press-releases/article/applicant-enrollment-2017/ 
 
[2] Rayburn, William F. “Women's Health Care Physicians.” The Obstetrician- Gynecologist 
Workforce in the United States: Facts, Figures, and Implications 2017. ACOG, 
www.acog.org/Clinical-Guidance-and-Publications/The-Ob-Gyn-Workforce/The-Obstetrician-
Gynecologist-Workforce-in-the-United-States. 
 
[3] Johnson, Amy M., et al. “Do Women Prefer Care From Female or Male Obstetrician-
Gynecologists? A Study of Patient Gender Preference.” The Journal of the American Osteopathic 
Association, American Osteopathic Association, 1 Aug. 2005, 
jaoa.org/article.aspx?articleid=2093065  
  
[4] Howell, Elizabeth, and John Concato. “Do Women Prefer Female Obstetricians?” Obstetrics 
& Gynecology, vol. 100, no. 4, 2002, p. 828., doi:10.1097/00006250-200210000-00035. 
 
[5]Haar E, Halitsky V, Stricker G. Factors related to the preference for a female gynecologist. 
Med Care. 1975;13:782-790.  
 
[6]Fisher WA, Bryan A, Dervaitis KL, Silcox J, Kohn H. It aint’ necessarily so: most women do no 
strongly prefer female obstetrician-gynaecologists. J obstet Gynaecol Can. 2002;24:885-888.  
 
[7] Yanikkerem, Emre, et al. “Women’s Attitudes and Expectations Regarding Gynaecological 
Examination.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 
Oct. 2009, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2801597/.