Gender as a Factor in the Physician and Patient Interaction: From the Service Quality Perspective

Versavel Tecleab Haile
Additional contact information
Versavel Tecleab Haile: Kaposvár University Doctoral School of Management and Organizational Science

Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets, 2018, vol. 2, issue 8, 21-32

Abstract: Research has not yet adequately explored the potential interplay between the physician’s gender and the patient’s perception of the service quality. Although various studies have covered the measurement of service quality in the hospital industry, the gender perspective has not been touched on signifi cantly. This study is a review article that aims to explore how gender matters to the physician-patient interaction in the service setting. It discusses the patient’s responses to physicians of different genders and the behavior of physicians of different genders. Consequently, it was found that gender is one of the factors that infl uence the physician-patient interaction and patients’ perception of the doctor’s competence. The gender of the physician as well as the patient could infl uence the communication level in medical encounters. Gender-based stereotypes in the service encounter could also affect the patient-physician interaction and the evaluations that patients give to physicians. Moreover, it was discussed that traditions, religion, culture, stereotypes and past experience serve as a foundation for customers to form a preference for the physician’s sex. The relationship between the physician and the patient is shaped by many factors lying on both the patient’s and the doctor’s side. These factors include the difference in communication style between males and females, the patient-physician gender dyad, the difference in personality traits between males and females. All these factors fall under the service dimension that is essential in measuring the quality of service.

Keywords: gender; physician; patient; interaction; service quality; gender stereotype; communication (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I11 M30 M31 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.wz.uw.edu.pl/portaleFiles/5708-journal- ... M_2(8)2018_Haile.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sgm:jmcbem:v:2:i:8:y:2018:p:21-32

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in Journal of Marketing and Consumer Behaviour in Emerging Markets from University of Warsaw, Faculty of Management Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by ().