eP739 - Should You Wear a White Coat? Patient Perceptions of Differing Attire Worn by Physicians

ePoster Presenter(s)

• MQ

  Mohammad A M Qasem, General Surgery Resident (he/him/his)

  Registrar General Surgery
  KIMS
  Kuwait city, Hawalli, Kuwait

  All of the relevant financial relationships listed below have been mitigated.
  This individual has no financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Author(s)

• SA

  Sundus AlMazidi, n/a

  Plastic Surgery Resident
  Kuwait Institute for Medical Specializations-Ministry of Health
  Kuwait, Hawalli, Kuwait

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• AA

  Abdulwahab Fahad AlKandari, n/a

  Dr Abdulwahab Fahad Alkandari, Plastic Surgery Registrar
  Albabtain center for burns and plastic surgery
  Kuwait City, Hawalli, Kuwait

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• AA

  Abdulrahman Fahad Al Kandari, n/a

  Registrar plastic surgeon
  Al Babtain Centre for burns and plastic surgery
  Kuwait city, Hawalli, Kuwait

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• AK

  Abdulaziz H. Kabli, n/a

  General Surgery Resident PGY-1
  McGill University
  Montreal, Quebec, Canada

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• KA

  Khalifah Alyatama, n/a

  Fellow
  UBC
  Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada

  Disclosure information not submitted.
• FA

  Fawaz Abdulraheem, MD MPH FACS FRCSC

  Senior Specialist
  MOH-Kuwait
  Kuwait city, Al Asimah, Kuwait

  Disclosure information not submitted.

Senior Author(s)

• JA

  Jasim Alabbad, MD FACS FRCSC

  Associate Professor
  Kuwait Univeristy
  Kuwait, Hawalli, Kuwait

  Disclosure information not submitted.

Purpose/Background: There has been a change in physician attire. While the white coat is an emblem of the medical profession, it has also been linked with hospital acquired infections. Physicians are increasingly incorporating scrubs and casual wear during clinical encounters. The objective of this study was to analyze the perception of patients regarding differing attires worn during clinical encounters.Methods/Interventions: Following institutional review board approval, adult patients (age > 18) in the outpatient setting, from 5 hospitals in the state of Kuwait, were offered a survey to assess their perceptions of differing physician attire from February 2020 to December 2020. The survey featured photographs of male and female models wearing 4 different attires commonly seen in hospital (business attire, white coat, scrubs, casual wear). Participants were asked about their preferences for each of the 4 attires with regards to perceived professionalism, trustworthiness, and knowledge. In addition, participants were asked about their preferences to physician attire in differing settings. Comparisons to the questionnaire were made between the four groups.Results/Outcomes: There were 667 participants included in the survey. The mean age was 37.1 (± 12.2 years); 39.4% of participants were men, and 69.5% had a previous hospital visit. Table 1 depicts the survey responses. Overall, participants favored business attire followed by white coat, then casual wear and scrubs (40.9% vs. 39.1% vs. 9.9% vs. 6.7%; p < 0.001). Participants perceived physicians as more trustworthy (39.4%; p < 0.001), knowledgeable (42.6%; p < 0.001) and professional (39%; p= < 0.001) with the physician wearing a white coat. Approachability (42%; p < 0.001) and caring (46.2%; p < 0.001) were more commonly associated with business attire. Professional attire is also associated with perceived likelihood of compliance (38.2%; p < 0.001). When asked about attire preferences in male or female physicians the distribution of attire was similar.Conclusion/

Discussion: The white coat and business attire are perceived as important elements during clinical encounters. There is a higher perception of compliance to treatment plans with the white coat attire.Table 1Survey results