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Not Too Old, Not Too Young: Older Women’s Perceptions of Physicians

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 December 2015

Hazel MacRae
Hazel MacRae*
Affiliation:
Mount Saint Vincent University, Nova Scotia
*
†La correspondance et les demandes de tirés-à-part doivent être adressées à: / Correspondence and requests for offprints should be sent to: Hazel MacRae, Ph.D. Department of Sociology and Anthropology Mount Saint Vincent University 166 Bedford Highway Halifax, NS B3M 2J6 (Hazel.MacRae@msvu.ca)
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Abstract

Older women interact with physicians more frequently than older men and younger persons, yet knowledge and understanding of their experiences with physicians is limited. The purpose of this study was to investigate older women’s perceptions of their interactions with physicians and to identify what older women want from physicians. Findings from in-depth interviews with 30 older women reveal the majority want to be actively involved in their own health care. In the patient–physician relationship, the women typically give priority to physicians’ personal attributes and behavior towards the patient. For many of the women, the age and gender of the physician also matter.

Résumé

Les femmes plus âgées interagissent avec les médecins plus souvent que les hommes âgés et les personnes plus jeunes; pourtant, la connaissance et la compréhension de leurs expériences avec les médecins sont limitées. Le but de cette étude était d'étudier les perceptions des femmes âgées de leurs interactions avec les médecins et d'identifier ce que les femmes veulent de leurs médecins. Les entrevues en profondeur avec 30 femmes âgées montrent que la majorité veulent être impliquée activement dans leurs propres soins de santé. Dans la relation patient-médecin, les femmes donnent généralement la priorité aux qualités personnelles de médecins et leur comportement à l'égard du patient. Pour de nombreuses femmes, l'âge et le sexe du médecin ont aussi leur importance.

Keywords

agingolder womenphysicianspatient-physician relationshiphealth caresymbolic interactionvieillissmentfemmes âgéesmédicinsrelation patient-médicinsoins de santéinteraction symbolique
Type
Articles
Information
Canadian Journal on Aging / La Revue canadienne du vieillissement , Volume 34 , Issue 4 , December 2015 , pp. 545 - 560
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Association on Gerontology 2015 

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