MDNews - Greater Kansas

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ +++ +++ ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ PRACTICE MANAGEMENT + + Hospital Gown Dilemma Evaluating the T EMBARRASSMENT. SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS. LACK OF PRIVACY. DECREASED DIGNITY. WE'VE ALL HEARD HOW TRADITIONAL HOSPITAL GOWNS CAN MAKE PATIENTS FEEL, AND A GROUP FROM THE NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY COLLEGE OF TEXTILES IS WORKING TO CHANGE THESE UNSETTLING FEELINGS ABOUT THE GARMENT. HE TRADITIONAL MEDICAL gown — a cotton garment with an open back and sleeves that unsnap — can be traced back to the open nightgowns worn by patients in the 1800s and has not changed much from its updated design created in the 1920s. Although a familiar component of a hospital stay, the patient gown is dreaded by the majority of hospital patients. To help usher in the evolution of the hospital gown, a grant awarded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 2006 allowed the North Carolina State University College of Textiles to conduct a detailed research and production project. The grant, totaling $236,110, was awarded to fund focus groups, design development and marketing of the garment to health care organizations. Through six focus groups at hospitals in North Carolina and Massachusetts, the research team surveyed patients, hospital staff and professionals who market the gowns to hospitals. About 60% of patient participants reported disliking the hospital gown, and 45% percent of patients felt uncomfortable in the gown. Beyond the Patient Experience Although it is widely believed that hospital gowns are designed to facilitate the delivery of health care services — medical tests, IV insertion and removal, and injections — providers included in the focus groups reported another sentiment. About 79% of providers surveyed said the gown design sometimes interfered with medical services, and 69% of providers said the gown sometimes hindered patients' emotional health. With a price of $3 to $9 per garment, hospital gowns comprise a $76 million market in the health care industry. Although each unit is inexpensive, there are hidden costs, including: + laundering + knotted tie closures that are cut to save time + patients wearing two gowns to cover themselves "In our survey results, a patient responded that wearing the traditional gown distracted from rehabilitation exercises that were aimed to help the patient recover," says Traci Lamar, Ph.D., MDNEWS.COM ■ MD NEWS Greater Kansas | 5 associate professor at the North Carolina State University College of Textiles, who is supported by a team of students, including Ph.D. candidate Anne Porterfield. "A hospital environment can be stressful for patients, and feeling exposed can make the situation tenser. It's time for a new design that benefits both patients and providers, and our goal is to create that ideal design." Potential subsequent phases of this project will aim to produce and conduct wear-testing of a new gown design. For more information about the North Carolina State University College of Textiles, visit www.tx.ncsu.edu. ■

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