Hospital doctors’ attire during COVID-19 and beyond: time for a permanent change

Nordrum, Ola Løkken; Aylward, Peter; Callaghan, M

doi:10.1007/s11845-022-02922-1

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(12 reference statements)

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“…This was particularly true during the COVID-19 pandemic, where scrubs were encouraged due to a stringent focus on infection control. Even after the pandemic, several healthcare workers have shown a preference for routine scrub attire [ 18 ]. Repeated exposure to physicians in scrubs, may have bred a sense of familiarity amongst patients that has resulted in expecting physicians to be dressed in scrubs rather than the formal office attire.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient Perspectives Regarding Healthcare Professional Attire

Seah,

Ng,

Ang

et al. 2024

Cureus

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Introduction Physician attire has been shown to influence patients' impression of their healthcare provider. Scrubs and formal office attire are interchangeably worn by physicians. This study aimed to determine differences in scrubs and formal office attire on patient perceptions of professionalism, friendliness, aptitude, and empathy. Methods A single-center questionnaire study was conducted and a total of 150 patients were included. Patients were recruited from the inpatient and outpatient settings. Patients completed a questionnaire in which they rated 22 photographs. The photographs comprised a series of randomly arranged vignettes, with each participating physician appearing twice - once in formal office attire, once in scrubs. The physicians served as their own controls. Patients were asked to rate the depicted physicians based on the following four criteria - professionalism, friendliness, aptitude, and empathy. Each criterion was rated on an 11-point scale (0-10). Comprehensive demographic information, including age, gender, and race, was collected. Results A total of 150 responses were collected (50 inpatient and 50 orthopaedic surgery outpatient, 50 general medicine outpatient). Scrubs were rated significantly higher than formal office attire in all domains: professionalism [mean 7.52 (SD 1.95) vs. 6.69 (SD 2.38), p< 0.001], friendliness [mean 7.54 (SD 1.86) vs. 6.87 (SD 2.23), p< 0.001], aptitude [mean 7.44 (SD 1.99) vs. 6.72 (SD 2.36), p < 0.001] and empathy [mean 7.36 (SD 2.01) vs. 6.71 (SD 2.36), p < 0.001]. The perceived age of the physician did not affect any of the domain scores. Female physicians scored poorer in professionalism [mean 6.95 (SD 2.30) vs. 7.20 (SD 2.16), p < 0.05] compared to male physicians, but this difference resolved when analyzing only physicians wearing Scrubs. Conclusion Patients view physicians in scrubs as having higher professionalism, friendliness, aptitude, and empathy as compared to physicians in formal office attire. Physicians should don standardized colored scrubs with a prominent name tag to improve patient perceptions.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient Perspectives Regarding Healthcare Professional Attire

Seah,

Ng,

Ang

et al. 2024

Cureus

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“…questions about the hygiene of white coats, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. [16][17][18] Green coats were laundered more frequently than white coats in our hospital and were thus perceived as more hygienic. Sometimes physicians would like to leave outwears unbuttoned for the ease of putting on and off.…”

mentioning

confidence: 85%

Patient Preferences for Anesthesiologist Attire During Preoperative Visits in China: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Xu,

Lu,

Liu

et al. 2023

PPA

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Background It is important for anesthesiologists to leave good impressions and build rapport with patients during preoperative visits. However, patient preferences for anesthesiologist attire have not been well studied in China. Purpose To characterize patient perceptions of anesthesiologist attire during preoperative visits. Patients and Methods In this cross-sectional survey, we included adult patients who underwent elective operations in various surgical departments. We presented photographs of both male and female models wearing six combinations of attire (formal in a white coat buttoned, formal in a white coat unbuttoned, casual in a white coat buttoned, casual in a white coat unbuttoned, scrubs in a white coat buttoned, and scrubs in a coat of the same green color buttoned) in a randomized sequence. Participants were asked to rate each attire combination in five domains, including professionalism, experience, attitude, approachability, and caring. Results Of the 541 surveys distributed, 516 (95.4%) were completed and included in the analysis. The majority of respondents were female [389 (75.4%)] and aged 31–45 years [234 (45.3%)]. The combination of scrubs in a buttoned coat of the same color had the highest composite rating score [median (interquartile range): 50 (45, 50), adjusted P <0.001 compared with the other five combinations]. There was no significant difference in preference for standardized disposable or personalized cloth operating caps. Respondents’ age was independently associated with the perceived importance of anesthesiologist attire (46–60 years vs 18–35 years: odds ratio 2.17, 95% confidence interval 1.12–4.18, P =0.021). Conclusion Patients prefer anesthesiologists wearing scrubs in coats of the same color. Standardizing anesthesiologist attire based on these findings may improve patient satisfaction.

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