Although the nursing profession is widely respected by the public, nearly 30 percent of female respondents to a survey said they would not accept care from male nurses.

In questionnaires in May to 1,540 people aged 18 or above in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Shenyang and Xi'an, Beijing-based Horizon Research Group found that 94.7 percent of those polled said a career as a nurse is a respected profession and 54.4 percent said they would like their children to become nurses.

But in results released on Thursday, 27.7 percent of the female respondents said they do not want to receive care from a male nurse if they were at a hospital. Less than 10 percent of male respondents said they would not accept care from male nurses.

The survey did also reveal that respondents aged 50 or below have a higher tolerance to receiving care from male nurses than the elderly.