title: How to dress as a paediatrician?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Do different clothing styles have an influence on the doctor-patient-parent relationship and which kind of outfit is preferred by children and parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred and seven children and 72 parents were visited by a paediatrician randomly wearing one of the three different outfits (casual, semiformal, formal) during a hospital stay. Parents and children between 6 and 18 years were then interviewed about their opinion by use of a semi-structured questionnaire, while children between 0 and 6 years were observed concerning their behaviour during the examination.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using a 'likert scale', the casual outfit received the best mark by 95.5% of parents (58.3% in the semiformal, 30.8% in the formal group). The degree of the parents' trust in the paediatrician was comparable in all three groups. In children between 6 and 18 years, the casual dress was rated highest in 100%. In children between 0 and 6 years, the outfit had no significant influence on the patients' behaviour.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Apparently, parents do not only tolerate a casual outfit, but even prefer it without any loss of trust. The same holds true for children between 6 and 18 years. For younger children, the paediatricians' outfit seems to play no major role.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKH Leoben-Eisenerz, Leoben, Austria. julia.hofmann0412@gmail.com
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hofmann
authors.forename: Heinz
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zotter
authors.forename: Reinhold
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kerbl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003020:Clothing / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010372:Pediatrics; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations