Patient-Centered Hospital Gowns: A Novel Redesign of Inpatient Attire to Improve Both the Patient and Provider Experience

Abstract

During their inpatient stays, patients are often required – or highly encouraged – to wear hospital gowns. While these gowns are intended to be convenient for patients and their providers, their design has remained largely unchanged over time. As healthcare moves towards greater emphasis on patient-centered care, the hospital gown is an opportunity to improve patient care. Patients have expressed frustration with the traditional hospital gown, especially with how revealing the gown can be. Here, we introduce a redesigned hospital gown that addresses many common concerns related to patients’ comfort and privacy. Our design introduces novel midline, rear, and shoulder panels, which provide healthcare workers with convenient access to the patient while maintaining coverage over areas of the patient that are not being examined. These panels also make it less likely for patients to be inappropriately exposed during routine activities. A prototyped gown was developed to test design features, and evaluation of this prototype demonstrated that this novel design has the potential to address many concerns while protecting the usability of traditional gowns. Further improvements to the gown’s design are also discussed.