A study of midlife women's reasons for changing healthcare providers.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the reasons midlife women report for changing healthcare providers and to determine if there were any differences in reasons given for the change based on gender or ethnicity.
Data Sources: This was an analysis of data collected from a healthy community-based sample of midlife women as part of a longitudinal 5-year study of changes in health outcomes during transition to menopause. Women were queried about their experience in changing healthcare providers.
Conclusions: Over 42% indicated that they had changed health providers because of dissatisfaction with care. The component accounting for the majority of the variance was related to communication issues. There were no significant differences across ethnic groups in decision to change providers or in reasons for their dissatisfaction with care. However, their reports of experiencing racism in the healthcare system were troubling.
Implications for Practice: The ability of the provider to communicate with women may have implications in women's choices in health care later in life.