What Makes a Hospital Gown Functional? A Comparative Case Study of Effective Patient-Centered Design Practices in Four (n=4) Hospital Gowns

A hospital gown is essentially a patient uniform. Yet, the typical “tie in the back” hospital gown, standard garb for routine medical procedure, can have great influence over key intervention factors like receptiveness to treatment and patient self-esteem. Thus, the goals of this study are two-fold: 1) To understand patient perceptions of the standard hospital gown, and 2) To understand which principles and elements of design underpin effectively functional hospital gown redesign. Aim 1 was assessed via a comprehensive literature review of n = 5 qualitative or mixed-methods studies which surveyed or interviewed patients on their experience with the standard hospital gown. A sense of lacking dignity emerged as the main problem with the standard hospital gown, functionally defined as lack of appropriate coverage, sizing, or color. They suggested that pajama-like hospital gowns or “casual wear” would improve their experience at the hospital. To answer the question of feasibility of implementation, aim 2 focused on assessing extant hospital gowns for functionality and success in the hospital system. Four successful hospital gown redesigns were identified and formally analyzed following comparative case methods as described by Yin (2018). Results suggest that the preservation of dignity along with clinical functionality was the primary goal of the hospital gown redesign, unanimously accomplished through full coverage of the back and exchanging ties for snaps as functional closure devices. Quality of patient experience improved following the implementation of the functional hospital gown, supporting feasibility through cost-effectiveness and clinical functionality. Implications for treatment and future directions for research are discussed.