Peer-reviewed article
Gender matters, especially if you are a Polish teenager being examined by a doctor or a doctor examining a teenager.
Henzler M, Henzler AS, Jacewicz J, Nitsch-Osuch A, Kuchar E et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how gender affects intimate area examinations during health check-ups for Polish teenagers. Researchers surveyed over 1,000 adolescents and their parents from 80 schools to understand how the gender of the doctor and patient influenced whether these examinations happened, whether comfort measures were used, and whether teenagers wanted to return for future check-ups. The findings show that boys were examined more often than girls, but when examinations did happen with opposite-gender doctors, teenagers were less likely to visit a doctor again. Many Polish families also believed these examinations were illegal, particularly if a male doctor examined girls.
Key points
- Genital examination and puberty assessment were performed 14 times and 5.5 times more often in boys than girls respectively
- Female doctors performed intimate examinations more frequently than male doctors
- Male doctors were more likely to ask for consent (66.7% vs 40.2%) and use privacy screens (46.7% vs 21.7%) compared to female doctors
- Intimate examinations significantly discouraged adolescents from returning to the doctor, especially when performed by a physician of the opposite sex
- The majority of Polish adolescents and parents believed routine genital examinations are illegal, particularly if girls are examined by male physicians
Limitations
The study is based on self-reported questionnaires and cannot establish causation between gender configurations and examination practices or health outcomes. It reflects beliefs and practices specific to Poland and may not apply to other cultural contexts.
Abstract
To analyse how the specific gender configurations of the adolescent patient and the doctor affect the performance of intimate areas examinations during adolescent well-care visits and the emotions that accompany these examinations, the use of comfort measures, and the subsequent willingness of adolescents to visit the doctor in the future. An anonymous questionnaire was completed by adolescents (n = 1072) and their parents (n = 685) recruited from 80 randomly selected secondary schools in Poland. Genital examination and puberty assessment were performed more often in boys than in girls (OR = 14.1, p < .0001 and OR = 5.5, p < .0001, respectively). Female doctors performed intimate examinations more frequently than male doctors (OR = 2.2, p = .0059). Male doctors were more likely to ask for consent than female doctors, 66.7% vs. 40.2% (p = .0556), and use the screen more often than female doctors, 46.7% vs. 21.7% (p = .0393). Intimate examinations significantly discouraged adolescents from revisiting the doctor, especially when performed by a physician of the opposite sex. The majority of Polish adolescents and their parents believe that routine prophylactic genital region examinations are illegal, especially if girls' genitals are to be examined by male physicians. Conclusion The implementation of preventive genital region examinations in adolescents depends largely on non-medical factors-the gender of the patient, the physician, and the mutual configuration of these genders. The level of public non-acceptance of these procedures should not be underestimated by experts setting standards of well-care for adolescents. What is known • Although the assessment of sexual maturity is an integral part of the preventive examination of adolescents (both girls and boys) these examinations are often overlooked. What is new • The gender of the physician and the congruence of his/her gender with the gender of the adolescent patient influence whether a puberty assessment will be performed, as well as the social acceptance of such procedures. • Examinations of the intimate area are a significant factor discouraging both adolescent girls and adolescent boys from seeing the doctor again.