Patient satisfaction and gender composition of physicians - a cross-sectional study of community health services in Hubei, China

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is associated with both individual (patients and health workers) and organizational (health facilities) characteristics. This study aimed to establish a link between patient satisfaction and gender composition of physicians in community health service (CHS) organizations. METHODS: Participants were selected through multistage stratified random sampling: 36 CHS centers were selected from six municipalities in Hubei, China. All physicians on duty and patients visiting the CHS during the study period (from April to October in 2015) were invited to participate in this study: 324 physicians and 865 patients completed a questionnaire survey. Multilevel linear regression analyses were performed to determine the associations of patient satisfaction (scored from 1 to 5) with patient characteristics (gender, age, education, income, medical expense, frequency of visits to the CHS) and organizational features of the CHS (sex ratio of physicians, and gender differences of physicians in education and job satisfaction). RESULTS: Older patients and those with a higher medical bill had a lower degree of satisfaction (p < 0.05). At the organizational level: a higher proportion of male physicians weakened the negative association between patient age and patient satisfaction (p < 0.05); a larger gap in university qualifications between male and female physicians exacerbated the negative association between patient age and patient satisfaction (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The gender composition of physicians in CHSs is associated with patient satisfaction in the Chinese context: a larger gap (in number and qualifications) between male and female physicians is associated with higher patient satisfaction. Further studies are needed to explore the cultural roots of such an association.