Sartorial eloquence: does it exist in the paediatrician-patient relationship?

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Abstract
Objective: To evaluate children's and parents' perceptions of hospital doctors' attire. Design: Questionnaire study asking children and parents to assign positive and negative attributes to five photographs of a male or female doctor dressed formally and informally. Setting: Outpatient department, Children's Hospital, Birmingham. Subjects—203 consecutive child-parent pairs attending outpatient clinics over three months. Main outcome measures: Children's and parents' preferences, assessed by comparing proportions. Results: 70% (286/406) of children and parents rated doctors' dress as important; more children rated it “very important” (27% (54/203) v 14% (29/203), PConclusions: Children regard formally dressed doctors as competent but not friendly; they regard casual dress as friendly but not competent.

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