Patient Preferences of Breast Radiologists' Attire and Appearance

To assess patient preferences for breast radiologists' attire and appearance.

A multi-institutional anonymous, voluntary 19-question survey was administered to patients undergoing screening and diagnostic mammography examinations over a 5-week period. Using a 5-point Likert scale, respondents were asked about their preferences for gender-neutral attire (white coat), male-presenting attire (scrubs, dress shirt with tie, or dress shirt without tie), and female-presenting attire (scrubs, dress, blouse with pants, and blouse with skirt). Patient responses were compared to demographic data using bivariable analysis and multivariable regression.

Response rate was 84.7% (957/1130). Mean respondent age was 57.2 years±11.9. Most respondents agreed/strongly agreed that the breast radiologist's appearance mattered (52.5%, 502/956) followed by being indifferent (28.1%, 269/956). Respondents with greater education levels felt less strongly (p=0.001) about the radiologist's appearance: 63.3% (70/110) less than college cared about appearance compared to 53.5% (266/497) college/vocational and 47.4% (165/348) graduate. Most respondents felt indifferent about a breast radiologist wearing a white coat (68.9%, 657/954) or about male-presenting breast radiologists wearing a tie (77.1%, 734/952) without significant demographic differences. Almost all respondents either prefer/strongly prefer (60.1%, 572/951) or were indifferent (39.6%, 377/951) to all breast radiologists wearing scrubs when performing procedures. While respondents approved of all attire choices overall, most respondents preferred scrubs for both male- and female-presenting breast radiologists (64.0%, 612/957 and 64.9%, 621/957, respectively).

A variety of breast radiologists' attire can be worn while maintaining provider professionalism and without compromising patient expectations.