Does the gender of nurses matter to patients? A qualitative analysis of gender preferences of patients
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Date
2023
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Publisher
SAGE Open Medicine
Abstract
Background: This study argues that the gender of a nurse could give patients the emotional and psychological support they
need in their healing process. Nonetheless, in many developing countries, these intricate preferences of patients are usually
ignored due to poor staffing and logistical capacities of health facilities. As a contribution to this professional and operation
gap, this paper explores patients’ preference for nurses’ gender in health care at the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in
Ghana. The paper further explores the importance of these preferences to the delivery of patient-centred care in Ghana
and across Africa.
Objective: The paper has two specific objectives: (a) to explore patients’ preferences for the gender of nurses who attend
to them while on admission; and (b) to find out the range of factors that inform these preferences.
Methods: Qualitative exploratory descriptive design was used to select adult patients who were not seriously ill and
nursed by male and female nurses at the medical and surgical wards of the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital in Ghana for
at least 5days from January to March 2017 and before their discharge. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling
technique. A semi-structured interview guide was used to elicit information from 14 participants after seeking their written
informed consent. The data were analysed using content analysis.
Results: Two major themes emerged. These were: the Preferred Gender of a Nurse in Nursing Care and the Reasons for
the Preference or no Preference for Nurses’ Gender in Nursing Care. Under each of these themes, the associated aspects
were also discussed. Patients had varying preference for a particular nurse during care but gender was not particularly
significant in patients’ preference for nurses. Majority of the participants emphasized their preference for nurses with
professional expertise and good virtues to determine a preferred nurse and both genders of nurses can possess these
qualities. However, nurses of the same gender as the patient were preferred for intimate procedures to ensure privacy
and satisfaction.
Conclusion: The gender of a nurse is not on top of the preferences list of patients in the study context. This may be
attributed to the long-term practice that the participants have not had the chance to be choosing a preferred nurse’s gender,
so most patients are tolerant and familiar with both male and female nurses. Instead, patients’ preferences are determined by
the performance and quality of service provided by nurses. Age, maturity and social connections were also found to influence
patients’ preferences.
Description
Research Article
Keywords
patient, preference, preference, nurses