Athleisure: A qualitative investigation of a multi-billion-dollar clothing trend.

Clothes play a ubiquitous, yet under-appreciated social role. In the context of body image, clothes may both reflect and facilitate wearers' ideals and anxieties about their physical appearance. Athleisure, referring to athletic-inspired workout apparel that explicitly accentuates wearers' physiques, is a hitherto unexamined clothing trend worth tens of billions of dollars annually (and growing) in the United States consumer market alone. We conducted the first qualitative examination of athleisure by interviewing 20 women who regularly wore athleisure. Four master themes emerged from the data: (1) the athleisure lifestyle, (2) the conditional nature of athleisure, (3) athleisure embodiment, and (4) athleisure-linked cognitive dissonance. Our results suggest that wearing athleisure communicates to others an adherence to the lifestyles depicted in fitspiration - a class of social media imagery that glorifies thin-fit bodies. Participants articulated that athleisure encouraged them to feel more confident and athletic; athleisure also emphasized the women's physiques, and whether they aligned with the thin-fit ideal. Thus, the act of wearing athleisure motivated participants to engage in fitspiration-based activities. Given the (a) massive public demand for athleisure, and (b) industry projections for continued growth in athleisure spending, our findings compel additional research on the connections between clothing and body image.

The Effectiveness of Distraction (Cartoon-Patterned Clothes and Bubble-Blowing) on Pain and Anxiety in Preschool Children during Venipuncture in the Emergency Department.

In preschool children, venipuncture is considered a bodily threat that can cause pain and anxiety, as well as being a traumatic experience. If the pain and anxiety felt by a child during a venipuncture is not addressed properly, it can result in a traumatic experience, and traumatic events in childhood can have long-term consequences. Atraumatic treatment in the emergency department has been little explored in previous research; therefore, the present study assessed the effectiveness of using the distractions of cartoon-patterned clothes and bubble-blowing on the pain and anxiety of preschool children during venipuncture in the emergency department. This was a quasi-experiment that used a post-test only, control group design approach. The sample consisted of 57 preschool children who were due to undergo venipuncture and who were divided into 3 intervention groups. The results showed that distraction using bubble-blowing is effective in reducing pain and anxiety during venipuncture, while cartoon-patterned clothing is only effective in reducing anxiety. Distractions can refocus the attention of a child away from pain and anxiety during venipuncture. It can inhibit the transmission of pain impulses, such that these impulses are not transmitted to the brain. As a result, the sensation of pain is not experienced.

The effect of uniform color on judging athletes' aggressiveness, fairness, and chance of winning.

In the current study we questioned the impact of uniform color in boxing, taekwondo and wrestling. On 18 photos showing two athletes competing, the hue of each uniform was modified to blue, green or red. For each photo, six color conditions were generated (blue-red, blue-green, green-red and vice versa). In three experiments these 108 photos were randomly presented. Participants (N = 210) had to select the athlete that seemed to be more aggressive, fairer or more likely to win the fight. Results revealed that athletes wearing red in boxing and wrestling were judged more aggressive and more likely to win than athletes wearing blue or green uniforms. In addition, athletes wearing green were judged fairer in boxing and wrestling than athletes wearing red. In taekwondo we did not find any significant impact of uniform color. Results suggest that uniform color in combat sports carries specific meanings that affect others' judgments.

Transforming the image of nursing: the evidence for assurance.

A nurse's uniform influences perceptions about nursing practice and thus contributes significantly to the overall image of a nurse. A nurse's uniform also can represent the brand of an organization, the tangible and intangible attributes that distinguish an organization from its competitors. The rebranding of a major health care system provided a unique opportunity to refine the "image of nurses" within the organization. This article describes the planning, evidence gathering, and implementation of a major initiative to promote professional nursing practice.

Doctor's attire influences perceived empathy in the patient-doctor relationship.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether doctors' attire influences the perception of empathy in the patient-doctor relationship during a therapeutic encounter. METHODS: A total number of 143 patients were divided into four groups when they were consulting a Traditional Korean Medicine doctor. Depending on the group, the same doctor was wearing four different attires--Casual, Suit, Traditional dress, White coat--when having a clinical consultation with the patients. RESULTS: The patients preferred white coat and traditional dress more than other attires, giving highest scores to white coat in competency, trustworthiness and preference of attire and to traditional dress in comfortableness and contentment with the consultation. The "Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE)" score was significantly higher in the "White coat" and "Traditional" groups, compared to the "Casual" and "Suit" groups. CONCLUSION: The strong association between the patients' preference of doctors' attire and the CARE score indicates that the doctor's attire plays not only an important role for establishing confidence and trustworthiness but also for the perception of empathy in the patient-doctor relationship. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: The doctor's attire can function as an effective tool of non-verbal communication in order to signal confidence, trust and empathy and establish a good patient-doctor relationship.

A comparison of the effects of a special gynaecological garment and music in reducing the anxiety related to gynaecological examination.

AIM AND OBJECTIVES: To investigate the effect of a special gynaecological garment and music plus the special gynaecological garment on reducing the state anxiety related to gynaecological examination. BACKGROUND: Gynaecological examination is one of the most common anxiety-producing medical procedures and causes embarrassment and discomfort. Few studies have focused on the effect of a gynaecological garment on anxiety associated with gynaecological examinations. DESIGN: The patients were allocated to one of three groups, one control and two experimental. While the patients in the control group were subjected to the normal outpatient procedure, the patients in the first experimental group were dressed in a special gynaecological garment. In the control group, gynaecological examinations were performed with a traditional one-piece drape. In addition to wearing the special gynaecological garment, the women in the garment + music group listened to music during the gynaecological examination. The State Anxiety Inventory Form was applied to the patients in all three groups before and after gynaecological examination. RESULTS: The state anxiety level after gynaecological examination in patients in the control group was found to be higher, but it was found to be lower in patients in both the first experimental group (garment) and the second experimental group (garment + music). The state anxiety level was found to be more reduced in the experimental groups than in the control group. The state anxiety level after gynaecological examination was found to be higher in single patients in the second experimental group. CONCLUSION: The special gynaecological garments are effective in reducing the state anxiety associated with gynaecological examination. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It should be taken into consideration that women perceived state anxiety during the gynaecological examinations. To allay anxiety associated with gynaecological examination in women, a special garment may be considered.

No effect of blue on winning contests in judo.

A study by Rowe et al. reported a winning bias for judo athletes wearing a blue outfit relative to those wearing a white one during the 2004 Olympics. It was suggested that blue is associated with a higher likelihood of winning through differential effects of colour on opponent visibility and/or an intimidating effect on the opponent. However, we argue that there is no colour effect on winning in judo. We show that alternative factors, namely allocation biases, asymmetries in prior experience and differences in recovery time are possible confounding factors in the analysis of Rowe et al. After controlling for these factors, we found no difference in blue and white wins. We further analysed contest outcomes of 71 other major judo tournaments and also found no winning bias. Our findings have implications for sports policy makers: they suggest that a white-blue outfit pairing ensures an equal level of play.

Patients voice issues of dress and address.

Establishing a positive patient care environment is one of the most basic concepts of health care professional practice. Dress and personal address are aspects of this environment that are influenced by culture and express mutual respect within the patient-provider relationship. The Patient Sensitivity Questionnaire was administered to determine how 76 Israeli inpatients perceived forms of address and dress in their health care environment. Patients preferred that their health care providers wear formal dress and be addressed by their formal titles. Respondents did not object to being addressed by their first names. Based on these results, it would seem that this Israeli sample preferred to retain the traditional provider-patient environment.