The social and health gender differences in patients companion in the family medicine consultation

Abstract

A ll over the world women are the predominant providers of informal care for family members with chronic medical conditions or disabilities, including the elderly and adults with mental illnesses. It has been suggested that there are several societal and cultural demands on women to adopt the role of a family-caregiver (1). So, spouses often serve as the primary caregivers to their ill or disabled partners (2).The domain of health includes the entire range of issues which touch on illness, sickness, disease, wellness, as well as those activities of preventing, diagnosing, healing, caring and curing. Thus, questions about women's participation in this domain profound and immediate concern to women, and involve roles and selves. Women have domestic activities which sustain, literally and symbolically, the way of life. As the providers of health, women are responsible for securing the domestic conditions necessary for the maintenance of health and for recovery from sickness. Women also serve as mediators of outside services. Their responsibilities with the domestic health service unavoidably bring them into contact with professional health service, among them the family doctor (3).In practice, a third person (companion) frequently accompanies a patient during medical encounter. There is a high prevalence of the presence of a companion, who is in almost one of every 4 visits served in Family Medicine. Companions of the patients in the medical office are usually family members in near 100% of cases (4-9).The major results of existing studies suggest that the regular presences of companions of the patients in consultations are often perceived as helpful. Accompaniment to medical visits is associated with better self-care maintenance and management, and this effect may be mediated through satisfaction with provider communication (10). Also, companions provide company, emotional support, and they have a role in mobility and decision making of the patients (11,12). However, their participation often poses challenges (13).Despite all the above, the reports, reviews or investigations about the gender OBJECTIVES:The purpose of this study is to describe gender differences in patient's companion, and their characteristics, in family medicine consultations. METHODS:A descriptive and prospective study in a family medicine office (Toledo, Spain) was carried out. For each patient and companion, the following variables were collected: age, gender, chronic illness, chief complaint, medications taken, social class, request for additional tests, kinship, social status and availability of companion. The bivariate comparisons were performed using the test of Chi squared, the Student t test, and the MannWhitney test.RESULTS: 104 companions to the patient in the family medicine office were obtained. Of these, 65 (62.5%) were female, and 39 (37.5%) male.In the female companions with regard to the male companions: there were 69% in the group of 40-64 years old vs. 49% (p = 0.02); were wife (34%) vs. husband (56%) (P=0.001); were unskilled...