Sammanfattning
The article presents data from an interview-based study of 10 in-patients. The purpose of the
interviews was to identify patient experiences and preferences as regards wearing hospital clothing
versus own attire during hospitalisation and to study whether clothing influences the patient-nurse
relationship. The interview was part of a development project on patients’ hospital attire.
The study was based on semi-structured, qualitative interviews. Patients were randomly selected.
The study comprised 10 patients; six women and four men. Data analysis was inspired by S. Kvale’s
and S. Brinkmann’s three levels of interpretation.
The findings of the study surprisingly revealed that for many patients, hospital garments are a
physical symbol of being a patient. The patients perceive hospital clothing as both creating and
protecting their identity.