Factors that affect women’s choice of their obstetrician and gynecologist: a survey of Lebanese women

Abstract

Factors that affect women’s choice of their obstetrician and gynecologist: a survey of Lebanese women S. Mattar 1 , A. Nassar 1* , L. Ghulmiyyah 1 , S. Haddad 2 , H. Tamim 2 , E. Hobeika 1 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2Department of Internal Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Hamra, Beirut (Lebanon) *Contributed equally. Summary Background: Previous studies in the Western world and some Arab countries have shown that women seeking healthcare consider a variety of factors such as physician bedside manner, hospital affiliation, experience, competency, gender, and recommendations from friends among others. The objective of this study is to evaluate factors that affect Lebanese women’s choice of their obstetrician and gynecologist (ob-gyn). Materials and Methods: Quantitative data were collected from 199 respondents after administering a self-completion questionnaire created on “LimeSurvey” and sent via email to a random sample (n=848) of female employees at the American University of Beirut (AUB). SPSS was used to code and analyze the data. Results: Lebanese women value consultation quality (median score (MS) = 92%), convenience (MS = 80%), physician’s educational background (MS = 73.34%) and reputation (MS = 52%), more than physical qualities (MS = 40%), and physician’s gender (MS = 20%). Multivariate analysis showed that younger females care more about consultation quality (p = 0.01), Muslim women and village residents prefer a female physician (p = 0.02 and p = 0.01, respectively), and the woman’s level of education directly relates to the physician’s educational background (p = 0.01). Conclusion: These findings will help medical graduates, program directors, current practitioners, and hospital human resources managers to better understand and cater to the needs of the population they are serving. Key words: Choice of Obstetrician and gynecologist; Survey; Lebanese women