"Colorectal cancer is the second leading cancer killer in the United States, so barriers to screening and other related challenges need to be addressed to improve care," said Bernard Levin, M.D., of the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Women's Preference for Women Physicians is a Barrier to Colorectal Cancer Screening (Abstract 102382*)
Female patients tend to prefer seeing female physicians in most specialties of medicine. A study presented by researchers at the University of Michigan found that for colorectal screenings in particular, women patients' preference for a female health care professional is
strong enough to delay the procedure and incur additional expenses, as there is a lack of available female endoscopists.
To confirm their hypothesis, researchers administered a questionnaire to a prospective cohort of 202 female patients between the ages of 40 and 70 at four primary care offices. Forty-three percent of the respondents preferred a female endoscopist. Of those, 87 percent were willing to wait more than 30 days for the female and 14 percent were willing to pay additional costs for one. Five percent of respondents said they would not undergo the procedure unless guaranteed a female endoscopist.
Analys
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18-May-2004