iStock/Thinkstock(MONTREAL) — Certainly one of the most unpleasant aspects of any hospital visit is when a patient has to don a gown that opens in the back.
Dr. Todd Lee at McGill University in Montreal explains that people often feel stripped of their dignity when they have to wear a gown without pants, which lowers them into the passive and helpless role of a patient.
Lee then looked at five hospitals in Toronto to learn more about this phenomenon. Of the 127 patients who wore gowns, just 11 percent wore pants underneath. Interestingly, more than half of the attending physicians said this would pose no problem with examinations but most of the patients in the study opted to remain naked under the gown in spite of how uncomfortable it made them.
However, at one hospital, 13 of 17 patients admitted that that they would like to wear pants beneath the gowns, suggesting that it would improve their experience.
Lee says, “Any clothing is probably superior to the gown, even if patients were wearing pajamas that allowed them to walk around the hallway without exposing themselves.”
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