Doctor-patient gender concordance and patient satisfaction in interpreter-mediated consultations: an exploratory study

BACKGROUND. Research suggests that doctor-patient communication patterns and patient satisfaction are influenced by gender. However, little is known about the effect of gender in consultations with foreign language-speaking patients and in interpreter-mediated consultations. METHODS. The objective of the study was to explore the effect of doctor-patient gender concordance on satisfaction of foreign language-speaking patients in consultations with and without a professional interpreter. Its design consists of a cross-sectional analysis of patients' reports. A total of 363 consultations with foreign language-speaking patients were included in the analysis. We measured the mean scores of six items on the quality of communication (answer scale 0-10): the doctor's response to the patient's needs, the doctors' explanations, the doctor's respectfulness toward the patient, the quality of communication in general, the overall consultation process, and information provided regarding follow-up. RESULTS. When interpreters were used, mean scores were similar for doctor-patient concordant and discordant pairs. However, in the absence of interpreters, doctor-patient gender discordance was associated with lower overall ratings of the quality of communication (-0.46, p= 0.01). CONCLUSIONS. Our results suggest that the presence of a professional interpreter may reduce gender-related communication barriers during medical encounters with foreign language-speaking patients.