Patients' perceptions and preferences for physicians' attire in hospitals in south western Saudi Arabia

ObjectiveThe patient–physician relationship impacts patients’ experiences and health outcomes. Physician attire is a form of nonverbal communication that influences this relationship. Prior studies examining attire preferences suffered from heterogeneous measurement and limited context. We thus performed a multicentre, cross-sectional study using a standardised survey instrument to compare patient preferences for physician dress in international settings.Setting20 hospitals and healthcare practices in Italy, Japan, Switzerland and the USA.ParticipantsConvenience sample of 9171 adult patients receiving care in academic hospitals, general medicine clinics, specialty clinics and ophthalmology practices.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe survey was randomised and included photographs of a male or female physician dressed in assorted forms of attire. The primary outcome measure was attire preference, comprised of composite ratings across five domains: how knowledgeable, trustworthy, caring and approachable the physician appeared, and how comfortable the respondent felt. Secondary outcome measures included variation in preferences by country, physician type and respondent characteristics.ResultsThe highest rated forms of attire differed by country, although each most preferred attire with white coat. Low ratings were conferred on attire extremes (casual and business suit). Preferences were more uniform for certain physician types. For example, among all respondents, scrubs garnered the highest rating for emergency department physicians (44.2%) and surgeons (42.4%). However, attire preferences diverged for primary care and hospital physicians. All types of formal attire were more strongly preferred in the USA than elsewhere. Respondent age influenced preferences in Japan and the USA only.ConclusionsPatients across a myriad of geographies, settings and demographics harbour specific preferences for physician attire. Some preferences are nearly universal, whereas others vary substantially. As a one-size-fits-all dress policy is unlikely to reflect patient desires and expectations, a tailored approach should be sought that attempts to match attire to clinical context.

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International patient preferences for physician attire: results from cross-sectional studies in four countries across three continents

Houchens

Saint

Petrilli

et al. 2022

BMJ Open

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Assessment of the Influence of Physicians’ Attire on Surgical Patients’ Perception. Across-Sectional Study in Aabet Hospital, AddisAbeba, Ethiopia, 2021

Ejigu¹,

Haile²,

Bayable³

2022

PPA

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Background In Ethiopia, physicians commonly wear formal attire, surgical scrubs, casual attire, or business attire during patient care, but there is no evidence to show which attire is preferred within the patients. So this study aims to assess the influence of physicians’ attire on patients’ perceptions. Methodology After ethical approval, a cross-sectional study was conducted with written informed consent; data were collected and checked for its completeness, later entered into SPSS version 25 for statistical analysis. Descriptive statistics was presented with frequency, percentage, tables, graphs, and texts based on the nature of the data. All the four attires were compared using the Friedman test and pair wise comparisons were conducted with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, and Mann–Whitney U -test was used to know the preferred attire on patients’ perception about physicians’ skill, with 95% confidence and a p-value of less than 0.05 were considered as statistically significant. Results In this study, out of the total respondents 66.7% are males and 71.9%, 50.3% of the respondents were degree or diploma holders, and aged 18–34 years respectively. Among participants’ 77.1% and 55.9% preferred formal attire and surgical scrub respectively. For male surgeons, formal attire and surgical scrub have an equal preference in surgical patients (p<0.001), but business and casual attire have no statistically significant difference. The patients’ preference in male formal physician attire in surgeon’s confidence, willingness to discuss confidential information and safeties of the surgeon were 76.2%, 75.7%, and 70.5% respectively, and for female surgeons, formal attire on surgical patients’ confidence in the surgeon, safety, and willingness to discuss confidential information were 74.9%, 73.8%, and 71.8% respectively. Conclusion Physician attire is one of the important factors that inspire surgical patient confidence, smartness, surgical skill, discussion of confidential information, and caring ability in physicians. Formal attire and surgical scrub were the most preferred physician’s outfits.

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Clothes Make the Man—What Impact Does the Dress of Interprofessional Teams Have on Patients?

2022

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Physicians’ attire seems to play an important role in the success of patient treatment. The classic doctor’s white coat initiates a strong signal to the patient and can have a determining effect on a successful doctor–patient relationship. In a quantitative online questionnaire study comprising 52 questions, participants were shown four photos of an interprofessional German family medicine team in varying attire. One important study feature relating to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic was that the team was portrayed wearing FFP2 masks in one photo. We measured core values regarding the team’s perception in terms of sympathy, competence, trust, choosing the practice as a personal health care provider, and wanting to participate in the team. The questionnaire was posted online between March and May 2021. It was accessed 1435 times and 906 sheets were qualified for statistical analysis. For the first time in this field of research, a practice team’s attire was investigated. We found a significant influence of different clothing on the perception of sympathy, competence, trust, elective practice, and team participation. Wearing an FFP2 mask promotes feelings of security and competence. The study shows that in times of fast social changes due to rapid digitalization and an ongoing pandemic, we should present ourselves in different ways as a medical team depending on the patient groups we are targeting and the feelings we want to evoke.

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Patients' perceptions and preferences for physicians' attire in hospitals in south western Saudi Arabia

Cited by 3 publications

References 14 publications

International patient preferences for physician attire: results from cross-sectional studies in four countries across three continents

International patient preferences for physician attire: results from cross-sectional studies in four countries across three continents

Assessment of the Influence of Physicians’ Attire on Surgical Patients’ Perception. Across-Sectional Study in Aabet Hospital, AddisAbeba, Ethiopia, 2021

Clothes Make the Man—What Impact Does the Dress of Interprofessional Teams Have on Patients?

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