Disclosures: Lauren Woo, MD: No financial relationships or conflicts of interest

Objective: To determine if the distribution of 3 x 4 inch clip-on badges (“smile badges”) displaying providers’ smiling faces, names, and titles would improve patient and staff well-being in an inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF).

Design: Quality Improvement projectSetting : Inpatient Rehabilitation FacilityParticipants : 303 staff members pre-intervention; 90 staff members post-intervention, and 58 inpatients who were admitted after smile badge implementation. Staff members included physicians, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, technicians, administrators, environmental services, and security officers.

Interventions: We distributed over 432 laminated, 3 x 4 inch clip-on smile badges displaying staff members’ smiling faces, names, and roles to inpatient and outpatient staff members.

Main Outcome Measures: Pre- and post-intervention surveys measuring staff members’ impressions of wellness, work environment, and sense of connection, as well as post-intervention surveys measuring patients’ attitudes regarding smile badges.

Results: Patient responses favored the implementation of smile badges, with 70% agreeing it is easy to identify the role of staff wearing smile badges, 69% agreeing that they feel less isolated in the hospital when they can see smile badges, and 67% agreeing it is easier to open up to health care providers who are wearing smile badges. Post-intervention, staff were less likely to agree that patients are confused about the role of their providers. Patient and staff subjective comments were overwhelmingly positive, stating that smile badges are “humanizing,” caused “tremendous improvement in patient’s mood,” and “make [pediatric patients] more comfortable.”Conclusions: The production of smile badges is a simple intervention that may facilitate the patient-provider relationship and positively impact patient experiences in the hospital in the setting of universal masking protocols.

Level of Evidence: Level V

« Back to AAPM&R Annual Assembly 2021

PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/project-smile-a-quality-improvement-initiative-to-promote-patient-and-staff-wellness-in-the-setting-of-universal-masking-due-to-covid-19/