A hospital gown, sometimes called a johnny gown [1] or johnny, especially in Canada and New England, [2] is "a long loose piece of clothing worn in a hospital by someone doing or having an operation". [3] It can be used as clothing for bedridden patients. [4]
Hospital gowns worn by patients are designed so that hospital staff can easily access the part of the patient's body being treated. [5]
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.
Hospital gowns used in psychiatric care will sometimes use snaps in the back instead of ties.
Used paper hospital gowns are associated with hospital infections, which could be avoided by proper disposal. [6]
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, Todd Lee, of Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal, said gowns are not necessary unless the patient is incontinent or has an injury in the lower body. Otherwise, Lee said, pajamas or regular clothes may be acceptable. [7]
Traditional hospital gowns were designed in an era when patients spent most of their hospital stays confined to bed. In this context, the open back of hospital gowns proved beneficial as it made dressing and undressing patients far easier for hospital staff and facilitated the use of a bedpan. Such advantages have become less salient over time as medical practices change to emphasize getting patients out of bed and mobile rather than encouraging prolonged bed rest. [8] When upright and moving, the open back of a hospital gown exposes the buttocks and prevents the gown from retaining warmth, resulting in some patients experiencing embarrassment and discomfort while wearing them.
Some studies have been done on updating the garment for more modern needs. [9] However, new-style gowns and other types of clothing can be more expensive. The Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey reported a $70,000 a year increase. [10]
When 9-year-old Luke Lange complained about wearing a hospital gown while being treated for Hodgkin 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 5,000 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. [11]
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. [9] [8] NCSU professor 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. [9] Lamar's additional funding came from RocketHub. At NCSU Fashion Week in 2013, Lamar's design was mentioned as "functional and dignified," but not shown "to prevent any patent infringements". A prototype, made of DermaFabric and made at Precision Fabrics in Greensboro, North Carolina, was to be tested at WakeMed. [8]
In 2009, Fatima Ba-Alawi was honored for her DCS (dignity, comfort, safety) gown at a RCN conference on London. Four years after she started using her skills making dresses to redesign hospital gowns, NHS trusts were using the design. The reversible gowns have plastic poppers which make it easier to change without moving the patient and save staff time, and side pockets for drips or catheters, along with a pouch for cardio equipment. One version called the Faith Gown has a detachable head scarf and long sleeves. [12]
Another redesign in England came from Ben de Lisi, one of six receiving grants. The Design Council was scheduled to show his design, which did not open in the back but did allow access, in March 2010. [13]
According to the BBC, de Lisi's hospital gowns are made much more modestly, taking patient dignity into consideration. [14] [ dubious ]
The Cleveland Clinic changed its gowns in 2010 because the CEO had heard many complaints. [15] Diane von Furstenberg was commissioned to design stylish hospital gowns based on her fashionable wrap dress by the Cleveland Clinic. [16] The new design was reversible with a V-neck in both the front and the back, with softer fabric. [8]
Birmingham Children's Hospital in England introduced the polyester/cotton Dignity Giving Suit in March 2013, after 18 months of work. Patients and health care professionals liked the suits with Velcro fasteners on the seams. Other area hospitals were interested. Adults wanted the gowns to be made for them as well as children. [17]
A design patented in 2014 by Janice Fredrickson had a side opening and sleeve openings, and could be put on without the patient sitting up. One version had pockets for telemetry wires and for drainage bags. It was suggested that different colors be used for different patients, such as those at risk of falling. [18]
In 2015, Henry Ford Health System of Detroit was working on its own design, similar to a bathrobe with cotton blend. In tests, patients liked the new design. But any update was likely to cost more, as well as harder to take care of. [8] The Model G design, to be made by Carhartt of Michigan, used snaps on the front and shoulders. [19]
A loincloth or breechcloth is a one-piece male garment, sometimes kept in place by a belt, knots, laces, safety pins, velcro straps, buttons, snaps, buckles, zippers or hook-and-eye closures and worn as outer clothing or in the external environment. Typical components include front and back pockets, a little change pocket, belt loops and an elastic waistband. It covers the genitals and, at least partially, sometimes the buttocks, the area covered by the loincloth. Historically, the loincloth can be worn dependent upon the weather, wearer, and setting. Often, they are wrapped around the bottom and between the legs.
A shirt is a cloth garment for the upper body.
A blouse is a loose-fitting upper garment that may be worn by workmen, peasants, artists, women, and children. It is typically gathered at the waist or hips so that it hangs loosely ("blouses") over the wearer's body. Today, the word most commonly refers to a girl's or woman's dress shirt, although there is considerable confusion between a true blouse and a women's shirt. It can also refer to a man's shirt if it is a loose-fitting style, though it rarely is. Traditionally, the term has been used to refer to a shirt which blouses out or has an unmistakably feminine appearance, although even many "standard" shirts today have a somewhat blousy fit, and the numbers of men wearing such shirts may match that of women wearing actual blouses.
A chemise or shift is a classic smock type of women's undergarment or dress. Historically, a chemise was a simple garment worn next to the skin to protect clothing from sweat and body oils, the precursor to the modern shirts commonly worn in Western nations.
A bathrobe, also known as a housecoat or a dressing gown, is a loose-fitting outer garment worn by people, often after washing the body or around a pool. A bathrobe is considered to be very informal clothing, and is not worn with everyday clothes.
The blanket sleeper is a type of especially warm sleeper or footie pajama worn primarily during the winter in the United States and Canada. The garment is worn especially by young children.
Clerical clothing is non-liturgical clothing worn exclusively by clergy. It is distinct from vestments in that it is not reserved specifically for use in the liturgy. Practices vary: clerical clothing is sometimes worn under vestments, and sometimes as the everyday clothing or street wear of a priest, minister, or other clergy member. In some cases, it can be similar or identical to the habit of a monk or nun.
Clothing terminology comprises the names of individual garments and classes of garments, as well as the specialized vocabularies of the trades that have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold clothing over hundreds of years.
A dress shirt, button shirt, button-front, button-front shirt, or button-up shirt is a garment with a collar and a full-length opening at the front, which is fastened using buttons or shirt studs. A button-down or button-down shirt is a dress shirt with a button-down collar – a collar having the ends fastened to the shirt with buttons.
A dressing gown, housecoat or morning gown is a robe, a loose-fitting outer garment, worn by either men or women. They are similar to a bathrobe but without the absorbent material.
Fashion in the years 1750–1775 in European countries and the colonial Americas was characterised by greater abundance, elaboration and intricacy in clothing designs, loved by the Rococo artistic trends of the period. The French and English styles of fashion were very different from one another. French style was defined by elaborate court dress, colourful and rich in decoration, worn by such iconic fashion figures as Marie Antoinette.
Fashion in the period 1700–1750 in European and European-influenced countries is characterized by a widening silhouette for both men and women following the tall, narrow look of the 1680s and 90s. This era is defined as late Baroque/Rococo style. The new fashion trends introduced during this era had a greater impact on society, affecting not only royalty and aristocrats, but also middle and even lower classes. Clothing during this time can be characterized by soft pastels, light, airy, and asymmetrical designs, and playful styles. Wigs remained essential for men and women of substance, and were often white; natural hair was powdered to achieve the fashionable look. The costume of the eighteenth century, if lacking in the refinement and grace of earlier times, was distinctly quaint and picturesque.
See-through clothing is any garment of clothing made with lace, mesh or sheer fabric that allows the wearer's body or undergarments to be seen through its fabric. See-through fabrics were fashionable in Europe in the eighteenth century. There was a "sheer fashion trend" starting with designer clothing from 2008. See-through or sheer fabric, particularly in skintone colours, is sometimes called illusion, as in 'illusion bodice' due to giving the impression of exposed flesh, or a revealing ensemble.
Fashion in the period 1900–1909 in the Western world continued the severe, long and elegant lines of the late 1890s. Tall, stiff collars characterize the period, as do women's broad hats and full "Gibson Girl" hairstyles. A new, columnar silhouette introduced by the couturiers of Paris late in the decade signaled the approaching abandonment of the corset as an indispensable garment.
A back closure is a means for fastening a garment at the rear, such as with a zipper, hooks-and-eyes or buttons. Back closures were once common on Western female clothing, but have recently become less so, especially on female casual and business attire. They continue, however, to be widely used in underwear, formal wear and specialized clothing. Back closures are also common in garments for infants and toddlers.
Scrubs, or sometimes Surgical Scrubs, or Nursing Scrubs, are the sanitary clothing worn by physicians, nurses, dentists and other workers involved in patient care. Originally designed for use by surgeons and other operating room personnel, who would put them on when sterilizing themselves, or "scrubbing in", before surgery, they are now worn by many hospital personnel.
Underwear, underclothing, or undergarments are items of clothing worn beneath outer clothes, usually in direct contact with the skin, although they may comprise more than a single layer. They serve to keep outer clothing from being soiled or damaged by bodily excretions, to lessen the friction of outerwear against the skin, to shape the body, and to provide concealment or support for parts of it. In cold weather, long underwear is sometimes worn to provide additional warmth. Special types of undergarments have religious significance. Some items of clothing are designed as undergarments, while others, such as T-shirts and certain types of shorts, are appropriate both as underwear and outerwear. If made of suitable material or textile, some underwear can serve as nightwear or swimwear, and some undergarments are intended for sexual attraction or visual appeal.
Fashion in the twenty years between 1775 and 1795 in Western culture became simpler and less elaborate. These changes were a result of emerging modern ideals of selfhood, the declining fashionability of highly elaborate Rococo styles, and the widespread embrace of the rationalistic or "classical" ideals of Enlightenment philosophes.
Traditional clothing is one of the factors that has differentiated this nation from neighboring countries, dating back as far as the Illyrian era.
3: a long loose piece of clothing worn in a hospital by someone doing or having an operation.
