Influence of Physician-Patient Gender Congruence and Language Interpreter Services in Urology.

Abstract

Objective: To examine how physician gender and language concordance impact patient satisfaction in a primarily Hispanic population.

Methods: An anonymous survey was distributed at an academic urology clinic, assessing factors influencing physician selection, comfort with physician gender, language preferences, and interpreter impact. Chi-square tests analyzed categorical variables, with significance set at p<0.05. Odds ratios (OR) reported with 95% confidence intervals (CI).

Results: Of 255 participants, 51.4% preferred a same-gender physician, though most were comfortable discussing urinary (60%) and sexual health (58.4%) issues with opposite-gender physicians. Age correlated with comfort discussing urinary (p=0.02) and sexual health (p=0.01) issues; higher education also showed significant associations (p<0.01). Black patients reported greater discomfort discussing urinary concerns with opposite-gender physicians (OR: 3.03, CI:1.1-7.6, p=0.02). Language concordance was important to 38.4% of patients. Nearly half (45.9%) found interpreters beneficial, while 29% were neutral. Patients with at least a high school education were more likely to perceive interpreters negatively (OR: 3.8, CI: 1.4-10.5, p=0.01).

Conclusions: While patients are often comfortable discussing sensitive health issues with physicians of different genders, preferences still exist, particularly among certain demographic subsets. Our research suggests that language concordance and the resultant use of interpreter services may affect the experience of patients with higher education levels and, thus, the perceived quality of care. These findings highlight the importance of recognizing patient preferences and cultural sensitivities to create a more inclusive, comfortable healthcare environments.