Comparing predictors of willingness to treat HIV+ patients for New York City male and female general practice dentists 50 years of age or younger

Abstract

Objectives: This article develops and compares gender-specific predictive models for willingness to treat HIV-infected patients (PHIV+) for male and female private general practice dentists (GPDs). Methods: Based on mail survey data collected in Manhattan and Queens, New York City (73.3% response rate), hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted for male and female dentists 50 years of age or younger (n=763) and for those in solo practice. Results: The gender-specific predictive models (R2s=0.72) do not differ, except for the influence of practice viability, a moderately strong, statistically significant predictor for men, while the least powerful, statistically nonsignificant predictor for women. This distinction remains for solo male and female practitioners. Informal/formal collegial norms are more influential predictors within the solo female model than within the solo male model. Conclusions: Findings are encouraging for further work in developing predictive models for clinician subpopulations, with an eye toward developing intervention strategies that reflect key predictive factors for each group.