Color coding nurse uniforms

A scoping review exploring people's perceptions of healthcare uniforms

BACKGROUND

Healthcare staff uniforms are a subject of debate in the UK, and this is particularly true in the case of less understood roles such as advanced nurse practitioners. Aim: This review explores what is known about people's perceptions of health professionals' uniforms.

METHOD

A mixed methods scoping review following the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology. Five databases (CINAHL, ASSIA, PsycINFO, and EMBASE) and several search engines were searched. Eligible reports were peer-reviewed English-language studies using any methodology to explore people's perceptions of different uniforms for health professionals.

FINDINGS

Forty-six studies (mainly from North America) were included, presenting a variety of perspectives on the uniforms worn by doctors, nurses and other health professionals.

CONCLUSION

Culture and context likely influence how uniforms are understood. Practitioners should consider how this may affect communication with both patients and colleagues. What health professionals wear matters, particularly in relation to less well understood roles.

The Impact of Nurses' Uniforms on Nurse-Patient Interactions: Patients' Perspectives

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this study was to explore patients' perceptions toward the nursing uniforms used in a hospital in Singapore and how different uniforms impact nurse-patient interactions.

BACKGROUND

Nursing uniforms act as a form of nonverbal communication. However, implications of the increasing variety of nursing uniforms on patients' perceptions of nurses and nurse-patient interactions are unexplored.

METHODS

An exploratory qualitative study design using semistructured interviews was adopted for the study. Twenty-one patients agreed to be interviewed. An audio recorder was used during data collection. The thematic analysis method was used for data analysis.

RESULTS

Four major themes were identified: identity, subjectivity, suitability, and inconsequential. Nurses' uniform was regarded as a representation of identity. Suitability of the uniform for nurses was a main concern for patients. However, nurses' uniforms were inconsequential to nurse-patient interactions.

CONCLUSION

Patients' perceptions of nurses' uniforms were highly subjective and have no substantial impact on nurse-patient interactions.