What you wear does not affect the credibility of your treatment: A blinded randomized controlled study

PATIENT EDUCATION AND COUNSELING

卷:100

Article

Traeger, Adrian C.^1,2  Skinner, Ian W.^1,2  Huebscher, Markus^1,2  Henschke, Nicholas³  Moseley, G. Lorimer^2,4  McAuley, James H.^1,2 

[1] Univ New South Wales, Prince Wales Clin Sch, Sydney, NSW, Australia

[2] Neurosci Res Australia, Barker St, Sydney, NSW 2031, Australia

[3] Heidelberg Univ, Inst Publ Hlth, Heidelberg, Germany

[4] Univ South Australia, Sansom Inst Hlth Res, Adelaide, SA, Australia

关键词: Randomized controlled trial;    Low back pain;    Professional practice;    Patient-centered care;    Patient education;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.pec.2016.08.009

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Objective: Professional appearance is easily modifiable, and might alter the effects of a clinical encounter. We aimed to determine whether professional attire influences a patient's perception of treatment credibility. Methods: We performed a single-blind randomized controlled study on 128 patients with acute nonspecific low back pain who were about to receive treatment in primary care. The treating clinician was randomly allocated to wear formal attire (experimental condition) or casual attire (control condition) to the consultation. Clinicians provided a standardized briefing on the rationale behind the patient's forthcoming treatment. Treatment credibility (Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire) was assessed immediately after this briefing. Results: All patients received the experimental or control condition as allocated and provided complete primary outcome data. Formal attire had no effect on perceived treatment credibility (Mean difference between groups 1.2 [95% CI-1.1 to 3.5]). Age was the only significant predictor of treatment credibility; older patients rated treatment credibility higher (Beta = 0.16 [95% CI 0.08 to 0.24]). Conclusion: In a trial setting, whether or not a clinician is formally dressed has no effect on perceptions of treatment credibility in patients with acute low back pain. Practice implication: Clinicians should dress comfortably without fear of losing credibility. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

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