Nursing students and nurses’ hazmat suit impressions

Abstract

The aim of this study was to clarify the impression people have of a hazmat suit worn when technicians measure the amount of radiation contamination in a human body and when medical personnel treat patients with radiation exposure. Participants were 106 female nursing students and 59 female nurses. The questionnaire method was used to evaluate their impression of a hazmat suit. Participants were shown a photograph of a technician wearing a hazmat suit, goggles, and mask, and they reported their impression of the clothes. The Multiple Affective States scale was used to evaluate the impressions. Participants were also shown a photograph of a person wearing clothes commonly worn by medical personnel for comparison. The positive affective score was significantly higher for the clothes commonly worn by medical personnel for both nursing students and nurses. Nursing students had stronger “cheerful” and “fulfilled” impressions than nurses. The negative affective score was significantly higher for the hazmat suit for both nursing students and nurses, with no significant difference between the groups. Both groups’ strongest impression was “tense.” Because people’s impression of a hazmat suit required for radiation protection creates serious tension, an improvement in the appearance of the hazmat suit is necessary to reduce tension and anxiety in those who see people wearing this suit.