PCR054: PPE Portraits: Patient and Clinician Experiences at a COVID-19 Testing Site

Shira Winter, PhD, RN, FNP-BC; Juliana Baratta, MS; Alexis Amano, MS; Mae-Richelle Verano; Mary Beth Heffernan; Paige Parsons; Stacie Vilendrer, MD, MBA; Lucy Kalanithi; Donna Zulman, MD, MS; Cati Brown-Johnson, PhD

Abstract

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic mandated personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare settings, obscuring clinician faces and expressions, and depersonalizing patient care experiences. PPE Portraits (affixing a clinician’s photo to the front of PPE) was first introduced in 2015 during the West Africa Ebola epidemic, and has been shown to help maintain patient-provider connection at times when patients may be fearful, isolated, and unable to identify clinicians caring for them. Objective: To evaluate patient and clinician experiences with PPE Portraits. Study Design: Implementation pilot with mixed methods evaluation. Setting: A drive-thru COVID-19 testing site affiliated with a large academic medical center. Population studied: Patients (n=18) and clinicians (n=6) interviewed in March-April 2020. Clinicians were recruited through convenience sampling. Clinicians answered questions via recorded interviews or email. Patients were interviewed by phone through random sampling stratified by date of service. Patients were sent a post-visit survey. Intervention: Health workers affixed a PPE Portrait in order to connect better with individuals in their care. Outcome Measures: Patient and clinician experiences with PPE Portraits (assessed through inductive coding of qualitative data) and patient experiences with fear (assessed through survey). Results: Patient surveys indicated varying levels of fear, including mild (16%), moderate (66%), and severe (18%). Patients reported that seeing the PPE Portrait was comforting; four patients stated that it did not impact their care because they already trusted the facility. Clinicians corroborated patient sentiments, reporting that the intervention humanized both the testing experience for patients and also the interactions among patients and clinicians. They noted that patients seemed more at ease and that portraits fostered connection and trust, thereby reducing anxiety and fear and signaling to patients that they were being given holistic, optimal care. A majority of clinicians felt this intervention should be replicated, and they recommended having surplus portrait supplies on site to facilitate ad hoc portrait creation. Conclusion: PPE Portraits humanized the COVID-19 testing experiences for patients and clinicians during a time of fear. Clinicians recommended PPE Portraits for other healthcare settings that require PPE. Future research could assess how PPE Portraits promote patient-provider connection and trust.
Leave a Comment
Dennis Baumgardner, MD
11/19/2021

Interesting assessment - thank you!

Judy Belle Brown
jbbrown@uwo.ca 11/20/2021

Interesting study because we all "assumed" it would make the encounter more humanistic - hope you can get more data...

Jack Westfall
jwestfall@aafp.org 11/20/2021

Terrific poster and presentation. Thanks for your work.

Diane Harper
harperdi@med.umich.edu 11/21/2021

innovative and imaginative solutions! thank you for sharing

Gillian Bartlett
gillian.bartlett@health.missouri.edu 11/23/2021

What a great presentation and innovative idea! This was a very nice project to read about.

Andy Pasternak
avpiv711@sbcglobal.net 11/28/2021

Interesting topic. I just wish we had more self testing so we wouldn't have to worry about this!

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