Hospital gowns

A hospital gown, also called a johnny gown or johnny is "a long loose piece of clothing worn in a hospital by someone doing or having an operation." It can be used as clothing for bedridden patients.

Hospital gowns worn by patients are designed so that hospital staff can easily access the part of the patient's body being treated.

The hospital gown is made of fabric that can withstand repeated laundering in hot water, usually cotton, and is fastened at the back with twill tape ties. Disposable hospital gowns may be made of paper or thin plastic, with paper or plastic ties.

Some gowns have snaps along the top of the shoulder and sleeves, so that the gown can be removed without disrupting intravenous lines in the patient's arms.

Used paper hospital gowns are associated with hospital infections, which could be avoided by proper disposal.

A Canadian study surveying patients at five hospitals determined 57 percent could have worn more clothing below the waist, but only 11 percent wore more than a gown. The physicians conducting the survey said gowns should not be required unless they are necessary. Although they are cheaper and easier to wash, Dr. Todd Lee, of Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, said gowns are not necessary unless the patient is or has an injury in the lower body. Otherwise, Lee said, pajamas or regular clothes may be acceptable.

When 9-year-old Luke Lange complained about wearing a hospital gown when being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, his mother adapted some t-shirts for him to wear, using snap tape on the sides. Other children saw the t-shirt and wanted one too. Two years later, the organization Luke's FastBreaks had raised $1 million for children's cancer and given out over 5000 of the t-shirts. They were long enough to wear like the gowns, but some preferred to wear them like t-shirts. Briton Lynn, executive director of Luke's FastBreaks, said the t-shirts helped children have a more positive attitude.

In November 2006, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation gave a $236,000 grant to a team at North Carolina State University to design a new gown based on "style, cost, durability, comfort, function" and other qualities. Studies had been done on updating the garment first used when most patients had to stay in bed, but not designed for modesty when patients got out of bed. NCSU professor Traci Lamar said, ""Now doctors want patients up and walking quickly." Still, traditional gowns could be washed many times and could be handled a lot. Lamar's team worked to come up with a "more comfortable, less revealing" design. Surveys found that nurses did not like the ties in the back because knots could form, and some patients wore more than one gown at once, with one tied in front and the other in back. Many patients disliked how lightweight gowns were. In April 2009, the NCSU team showed potential new designs at a reception, and they were preparing to ask for more funding as they developed a prototype. Meanwhile, some hospitals were offering alternatives, including gowns that opened in the front or on the side, and drawstring pants, cotton tops and boxers. These cost more than traditional gowns.

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Wikipedia