Review on Application of “Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic Consumer Needs Model” in Designing Patient Gowns

The perusal of the literature suggests that a conducive design process is required in designing apparel for specialized sectors or specialized needs such as surgical gowns and patient gowns, commonly referred to as hospital gowns, with a focus on the functional requirements and user needs. A design model such as the ‘Functional, Expressive and Aesthetic (FEA) Consumer Needs Model’; which incorporates the user needs and requirements in designing apparel, has garnered attention from fashion design researchers in designing functional clothing such as clothing for the disabled, clothing for tennis players, etc. The literature and the design patents reviewed in designing patient gowns emphasize the need to include modesty and functional requirements essential during pre-or-post-operative treatments in designing. The FEA model conceptualized as the FMA model (functional, modesty, and aesthetic model), aids in understanding the patients’ and caregivers’ requirements in designing the patient gowns. The functional aspects reviewed mainly focus on designing the patient gowns that give access to the patient’s body, donning and doffing, and provision of pockets for telemetry units. The patient gowns are implicated with the outbreak of bacterial pathogens and are generally laundered with suitable disinfectants following the hospital guidelines. Rendering the patient gowns with antimicrobial finishes would add to the functional requirements of minimizing the infectious agents’ exposure to healthcare providers and the patients. Modesty as a design requirement is included in designing patient gowns. Little significance is given to the aesthetics of the patient gowns. This review paper focuses on the functional, modesty, and aesthetic requirements essential in designing patient gowns, emphasizing the functional requirements of material performance and design requirements.