Doctor-patient advice on Taiwanese consultation websites: a study of gender disparity

This study examines online advice-giving behaviors among health professionals of varying genders and investigates how patient gender influences their communication styles. It analyzes 100 advice messages authored by psychiatrists in response to patient inquiries on two medical consultation websites in Taiwan. The analysis focuses on the pragmatic aspects of advice and referral expressions and the mechanisms employed to modify these suggestive comments. The findings reveal that despite their inclination towards direct advice, male and female psychiatrists employ distinct advising and referring strategies, tailoring their approaches to enhance receptivity among advice-seekers based on gender. Specifically, female medical experts tend to adopt patient-centered communication styles, showing heightened sensitivity to the emotional needs of their patients. In contrast, male professionals are more inclined to emphasize the significance and immediacy of their recommendations, displaying a greater degree of confidence in asserting their expertise.