Women's choice in the gender and ethnicity of her obstetrician and gynaecologist.

Objective: To ascertain women's preferences in the gender and ethnicity of her obstetrician or gynaecologist and to determine whether there were differences in preferences among different ethnic and age groups.

Methods: A simple 11-item questionnaire was placed at the antenatal and gynaecological clinics provided by South Auckland Health. The questionnaire was voluntary and 848 women completed the questionnaire over a 4-month period.

Results: Half of the women preferred a woman doctor and the other half had no preference. There was a 6% increase in preference for a woman doctor where an examination was required. Of the women who preferred a female doctor, 45% would change their preference if a chaperone were present. There was no disproportionate increase in preference for a woman doctor by the patient's ethnicity or age group. Most of the women did not think the ethnicity of her doctor mattered; however, 18% preferred the ethnicity of her doctor be similar to hers. There were more European women who preferred a European doctor and fewer Maori women would prefer a Maori doctor. Of the 9% of women who did not prefer a doctor of the same ethnicity to hers, Pacific Island women were over-represented.

Conclusions: This is the first study of this nature in New Zealand and the findings on preference for a female doctor are similar to those from other countries. The results of the present study did not show any difference in preference by women from the ethnicities studied and by age group. The use of a chaperone where a male doctor suggests an examination will reassure nearly half of those women who preferred a female doctor. Although most women did not think the ethnicity of her doctor mattered, there were distinct differences by ethnicity with more European women preferring a European doctor and fewer Maori women preferring a Maori doctor. A qualitative study is needed to ascertain reasons for these differences in preference.