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Design and pilot testing of therapeutic clothing for hospitalized children
Beth Hawkins1, Courtney Ventresco1, Meghan Cummings1
1Department of Cardiology, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Insights
Parents value dressing hospitalized children, with the Georgie outfit being preferred over standard hospital gowns. This family-centered approach may improve quality of life for pediatric patients and their families.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nursing
- Patient Comfort and Family-Centered Care
- Hospital Garment Design
Background:
- Limited research exists on the impact of hospital clothing on pediatric patients' quality of life and parental perception of care.
- Existing research on clothing primarily focuses on adults and infection control.
- Hospitalization significantly impacts a child's well-being and family dynamics, highlighting the need for supportive interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the design and pilot program of a parent-designed clothing option for hospitalized infants and children.
- To understand the importance and effects of hospital clothing on families.
- To evaluate a novel pediatric hospital garment (the Georgie) for comfort and practicality.
Main Methods:
- A pediatric outfit, the Georgie, was designed with input from healthcare professionals and parents.
- The Georgie garment underwent pilot testing on pediatric intensive care unit patients.
- Pre- and post-use questionnaires assessed parental and nursing feedback on the Georgie's use, comfort, and line management.
Main Results:
- Parents reported positive overall responses to the Georgie, valuing the ability to dress their child.
- The Georgie was preferred over standard hospital gowns (Johnny) by 80% of parents, particularly regarding monitoring line management.
- Nurses reported positive initial reactions and felt monitoring lines were secure when using the Georgie, despite added dressing effort.
Conclusions:
- Implementing the Georgie as a family-centered care initiative may enhance the quality of life for hospitalized pediatric patients and their families.
- Further large-scale studies are needed to validate these findings and explore broader implications for patient care and logistics.
Purpose:
The purpose of this paper is to describe the design and pilot program of a parent designed clothing option for hospitalized infants and children and to better understand the importance and effects of hospital clothing on families. Little research has been done on how clothing a hospitalized child impacts the child's quality of life and their parent's perception of care. Research has been limited to clothing in adults and its relation to infection.
Design And Methods:
A pediatric outfit (the Georgie) for hospitalized infants and children was designed based on insight from bedside nursing, physicians, parents, and supply chain personnel. The garment was pilot tested on select patients from intensive care units of a large children's hospital. A pre- and post-use questionnaire was disseminated with questions focused on aspects of the child's care, comfort in changing child's clothes/diapers, number of times the Georgie was used and comfort level of using the Georgie. Survey responses were summarized using descriptive statistics.
Results:
Parents overall response to the Georgie was positive with great value placed on having their child dressed. All parents (n = 5) responded that too many lines were an obstacle to having their child dressed. Compared to the hospital Johnny, the Georgie (80%, n = 4) was the most preferred when placement and securement of monitoring lines was taken into consideration with one parent preferring a blanket and diaper only. Nurses felt the benefit outweighed the added effort in dressing the patient. The majority of the nurses had a positive initial reaction to the Georgie (80%, n = 4) and felt the lines or external devices were "very secure/secure" (80%, n = 4) when the patient was wearing the Georgie.
Practice Implications:
Implementing a new family centered care initiative of dressing critically ill patients in the Georgie may improve patient and family's quality of life while hospitalized. A larger scale study is indicated to assess the importance of dressing hospitalized pediatric patients for their families, to clarify the effect on nursing care, to optimize ability to stabilize lines, and to understand logistical issues.
