Data from: Female genital cosmetic surgery: a cross-sectional survey exploring knowledge, attitude and practice of general practitioners

Objective To explore general practitioner's (GP) knowledge, attitudes and practice regarding female genital cosmetic surgery (FGCS) in Australia. Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Australia. Sample GPs who attended a women's health seminar and GPs who subscribed to a non-governmental, national health professional organisation database that provides education to primary care professionals. Method A national online survey of GPs was conducted for the 10-week period, starting 1 week prior and 2 months after a Women's Health seminar was held in Perth on 8 August 2015. 31 questions prompted GPs' knowledge, attitudes and practice in managing patients asking about FGCS. Results The survey was fully completed by 443 GPs; 54% had seen patients requesting FGCS. Overall, 75% (95% CI 71% to 79%) of GPs rated their knowledge of FGCS as inadequate and 97% (95% CI 94% to 99%) had been asked by women of all ages about genital normality. Of those who had seen patients requesting FGCS, nearly half (44%, 95% CI 38% to 51%) reported they had insufficient knowledge of risks of FGCS procedures and 35% (95% CI 29% to 41%) reported seeing females younger than 18 years of age requesting FGCS. Just over half (56%, 95% CI 51% to 60%) of the GPs felt that women should be counselled before making a referral for FGCS. More than half the GPs suspected psychological disturbances in their patients requesting FGCS such as depression, anxiety, relationship difficulties and body dysmorphic disorder. Conclusions GPs see women of all ages presenting with genital anatomy concerns and in those who request FGCS, GPs often suspected a range of mental health difficulties. GPs require greater education to support their patients who request FGCS.

研究目的：探讨澳大利亚全科医师（General Practitioner, GP）对女性生殖器整形手术（Female Genital Cosmetic Surgery, FGCS）的认知、态度与执业实践情况。
研究设计：横断面调查。
研究地点：澳大利亚。
研究对象：参加女性健康研讨会的全科医师，以及订阅了一家为基层医疗专业人员提供教育服务的非政府全国性卫生专业组织数据库的全科医师。
研究方法：针对全科医师的全国性线上调查于2015年8月8日在珀斯举办的女性健康研讨会前后开展，调研周期为10周，起始于研讨会前1周，结束于研讨会后2个月。问卷共设置31个问题，用于调研全科医师在接诊咨询女性生殖器整形手术的患者时的认知、态度与执业行为。
研究结果：共有443名全科医师完整完成本次调查；其中54%的医师曾接诊过要求实施女性生殖器整形手术的患者。总体而言，75%（95%置信区间CI：71%~79%）的全科医师认为自身对女性生殖器整形手术的认知不足，97%（95%置信区间CI：94%~99%）的医师曾被各年龄段女性咨询生殖器形态正常与否的相关问题。在曾接诊过相关诉求患者的医师中，近半数（44%，95%置信区间CI：38%~51%）表示自身对该手术的风险知识储备不足，另有35%（95%置信区间CI：29%~41%）的医师接诊过未满18岁的女性提出该手术诉求。仅超过半数（56%，95%置信区间CI：51%~60%）的全科医师认为，在为患者转诊女性生殖器整形手术前，应为其提供咨询服务。超半数医师怀疑提出该手术诉求的患者存在心理异常，如抑郁、焦虑、人际困境及躯体变形障碍。
研究结论：全科医师会接诊各年龄段存在生殖器形态顾虑的女性，而在提出该手术诉求的患者中，全科医师常怀疑其存在多种心理健康问题。全科医师需要接受更多相关教育，以更好地为提出女性生殖器整形手术诉求的患者提供支持。