Introduction: In France, four health care categories ensure primary care gynecological follow-up: general practitioners (GP), medical gynecologists, obstetrician gynecologists and midwives.
Purpose of research: To describe private health professionals’ ensuring gynecological follow-up in Pays de la Loire (France) in 2018, as well as their respective activities.
Results: Our study population was composed of 3764 health professionals, a majority of those being GP. Proportion of aged 60 or older GP in Loire-Atlantique was 25.5%, this proportion was higher in Sarthe (49%). 80% of medical gynecologists were at least 60 years of age and mainly settled in Loire-Atlantique and Maine-et-Loire. Obstetrician gynecologists were older in Mayenne, Sarthe and Vendée. Midwives were relatively younger: 71% were under 50 years of age.
On a regional basis, 1 658 155 medical consultations, for any type of gynecological reasons, were identified. Among them, 41.3% were done by GP, 24.3% by gynecologists and 34.4% by midwives. GPs aged 60 or older who represented 30.5% of all GP in Pays de la Loire ensured 26.3% of GP gynecological follow-up, with wide departmental discrepancies.
Conclusions: Medical gynecologist specialty is unequally distributed within the Pays de la Loire area and many professionals are aged 60 or older. Inadequate access to healthcare in this specific field due to the lack of healthcare professional will be soon problematic. Obstetrician gynecologist specialty is better spread, due to care facility locations. A larger volume of activities is taken on by midwives, whereas a wider range of activities is carried out by physicians, according to medical classification.