None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
There is considerable anecdotal evidence that smiling at a patient while walking past their cubicle increases the number of requests for assistance. This is perceived as a nuisance by some staff who believe they are busy enough and that the assistance should be provided by the patient's attending nurse. Given this perception, some staff deliberately do not look at or smile at a patient as they walk past. This trial will determine if smiling truly does increase requests.
Interventions
The interventions will be administered as the researcher (medical student) walks past the patient's cubicle on a single occasion. Walking past will take approximately 4-5 seconds. - Arm 1: neither looking nor smiling at the patient. Arm 2: looking at the patient only, for the duration of the time walking past. Arm 3: looking and smiling at the patient for the duration of the time walking past..
The researchers administering the intervention will have classes from a departmental physiotherapist a
The interventions will be administered as the researcher (medical student) walks past the patient's cubicle on a single occasion. Walking past will take approximately 4-5 seconds. - Arm 1: neither looking nor smiling at the patient. Arm 2: looking at the patient only, for the duration of the time walking past. Arm 3: looking and smiling at the patient for the duration of the time walking past.. The researchers administering the intervention will have classes from a departmental physiotherapist and speech pathologist to standardise the walking past and smile prior to commencement of the study. Both actions will be checked for intervention adherence by these health professionals after the first 50 patients have been enrolled and on subsequent occasions if adherence is thought to be inconsistent.
Sponsors
Austin Hospital
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Educational / counselling / training
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Subject, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Emergency department patients, aged 18 years of more, who are alert and looking out of their cubicle
Exclusion criteria
Family or friends in attendance with the patient
Outcome results
None listed