Despite its potential influence on quality of care, there has been little research on the way physicians perceptions of and beliefs about patients are affected by patient demographic characteristics . The lack of research in this area creates a critical gap in our understanding of how patients’ demographic characteristics influence encounter characteristics, diagnoses, treatment recommendations, and outcomes. This study uses survey data to examine the degree to which patient sex affected physicians' perceptions of patients during a post-angiogram encounter. A total of 842 patient encounters were sampled, out of which 193 physicians provided data on 618 (73%) of the encounters sampled. The results of analyses of the effect of patient sex on physician perceptions of and attitude towards patients personalities, social resources, abilities, and likely behaviors, controlling for patient age, race, socioeconomic status (SES), frailty/sickness, depression, mastery, social assertiveness and physician characteristics, will be presented. These results supported the hypothesis that physicians’ perceptions of patients were influenced by patients’ sex and that this relationship was moderated by race/ethnicity and SES characteristics. Implications are discussed in terms of doctor-patient encounters, quality of care for women, further studies and potential interventions.
Learning Objectives: Participants will understand the effect of patient sex on the way a sample of physicians' perceive patients' personality, abilities, and likely behaviors.
Keywords: Women's Quality Care, Health Care Delivery
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
Disclosure not received
Relationship: Not Received.