Patient Perceptions of Hospital Admission Interviews

This study aims to investigate the impact of wearing a patient hospital gown on the patient experience, specifically focusing on dehumanisation. The study will also look at the impact of wearing a patient gown on the patient-doctor relationship, and patient behaviour. The randomised control trial will be a single-centre study conducted at The University of Auckland Grafton Campus. 72 participants for the trial will be recruited from The University of Auckland and wider community via online, email, and poster advertisements. A cover story will be used, whereby participants will be told that the study is looking to evaluate medical admission interview processes and that they will be supporting the researchers in this evaluation via the provision of feedback. Once the potential participants respond to the advertisements for the study via email, a participant information sheet with study details will be sent to them. Upon meeting eligibility criteria participants will be asked to register via an online booking system to attend a medical interview at a date and time convenient to them. Participants will have a selection of dates and times available to choose from. Once participants arrive at the research venue, they will be asked to read and sign a written consent form and be given the opportunity to ask any questions they may have about the study. Participants will also complete a baseline questionnaire collecting demographic details. Once paperwork is complete, participants will be randomised to either wear a patient hospital gown or remain in their own clothes. They will not know that there are two groups (gown or normal clothes), only that we are interested in their views of the admission interview. The researcher completing the pre-interview process with participants will be blinded to the randomisation process and will only know which group the participant will be in after opening a sealed envelope with the information post pre-interview procedures. The randomisation will be completed using randomiser.org by the second researcher who will not be present at the research venue during the interviews. After randomisation of the participants to either the gown wearing or wearing own clothes group, participants will enter the medical interview room to meet the doctor and begin the interview. The medical interviews will be carried out by either a female or male 5th or 6th year medical student from The University of Auckland. The medical students will be employed by the research team to conduct the interviews. The “doctors” too will be told that they are supporting a study looking to evaluate medical admission interview processes. Their role will be to conduct the interview following a script provided by the researchers. The medical students will be asked to wear what they would normally wear for hospital ward rounds. They will also be asked to sign a confidentiality statement requiring them not to discuss the study, the participants or share their thoughts about the admission interviews with others and each other. The medical interview will follow a standard interview structure and finish by taking the vital signs and listening to heart sounds. Participants will receive either the female or male doctor depending on which gender they identify with. Male participants will see the male medical student, female participants the female medical student and gender diverse participants can choose. The interview times available on the online booking system will reflect availability of the employed medical students and the researcher. During the medical interview, participants will be asked to answer questions truthfully. It is likely that most participants will not have a specific presenting complaint to share with the medical student, but they will be asked about their current health and symptoms. If the “doctors” have any concerns about the health and wellbeing of the participants following the interview, they will be asked to share these with the researcher who will be able to take the necessary steps to ensure the participant is followed-up, informed and given an opportunity to seek professional support. During the interview, the conversation between the participant and doctor will be recorded using a voice recorder. This data will later be transcribed and analysed using Linguistic Inquiry and Word Count (LIWC) software post-interview. The blood pressure of participants will also be measured as part of taking the vital signs. After completing the interview with the doctor, participants will be asked to complete The Patient Experience and Feedback Questionnaire. It is expected that the participants will spend a total of 40 minutes at the clinical research centre. This will include 10 minutes upon arrival spent gowning up if required and completing the baseline questionnaire. The patient-physician consultation is expected to take no more than 20 minutes followed by 10 minutes to complete the post-interview questionnaires. Participants will receive a $20 gift voucher as a gesture of gratitude for volunteering their time for the study as they leave the venue. Both participants and medical students will be debriefed at the end of the study once all 70 interviews have been completed.