Medicine Service, VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Department of Medicine, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA.
BMJ Open. 2022 Oct 3;12(10):e061092. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-061092.
The 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.
20 hospitals and healthcare practices in Italy, Japan, Switzerland and the USA.
Convenience sample of 9171 adult patients receiving care in academic hospitals, general medicine clinics, specialty clinics and ophthalmology practices.
The 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.
The 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.
Patients 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.
医患关系影响患者的体验和健康结果。医生的着装是一种非言语沟通方式，影响着这种关系。先前研究着装偏好的研究受到测量方法不统一和研究范围有限的影响。因此，我们进行了一项多中心、横断面研究，使用标准化调查工具比较国际环境中患者对医生着装的偏好。
意大利、日本、瑞士和美国的 20 家医院和医疗实践。
在学术医院、普通内科诊所、专科诊所和眼科诊所接受治疗的 9171 名成年患者的便利样本。
调查是随机的，包括穿着各种服装的男性或女性医生的照片。主要结果测量是着装偏好，由五个领域的综合评价组成：医生看起来有多知识渊博、值得信赖、关怀和易接近，以及受访者的舒适度。次要结果测量包括国家、医生类型和受访者特征的偏好差异。
尽管每种着装都最受欢迎（白大褂），但不同国家的最高评价着装形式有所不同。着装极端（休闲和西装）的评价较低。某些医生类型的偏好更加统一。例如，在所有受访者中，急诊医生（44.2%）和外科医生（42.4%）最认可手术服。然而，初级保健和医院医生的着装偏好存在差异。在美国，所有类型的正式着装都比其他地方更受欢迎。受访者的年龄仅影响日本和美国的偏好。
来自不同地理位置、环境和人口统计学背景的患者对医生的着装都有具体的偏好。一些偏好几乎是普遍的，而其他偏好则有很大差异。由于一刀切的着装政策不太可能反映患者的愿望和期望，因此应该寻求一种量身定制的方法，尝试根据临床背景来匹配着装。
