Observational studyBMJ leader2026
Promoting kindness through media increases patient satisfaction in an emergency department: a simple intervention to uplift patients and lower stress.
Observational study in BMJ leader, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
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Who cites it
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionOne of the compelling reasons for healthcare leaders to nurture a kinder organisational culture is that kindness buffers stress by creating connection. As stress affects both patients and staff and increases negativity, burnout, distrust and incivility, the impetus for fostering kindness is much greater than just being nice.We have been deploying kindness media (KM)-short form videos depicting acts of kindness and caring-in healthcare. Seeing KM reduces stress and uplifts patients and staff in non-critical settings.The emergency department (ED) is a particularly stressful environment. In the ED, patients' personal stressors are amplified by wait times, anxiety and illness.
objectiveThe goal of this observational study was to assess the impact of KM in a level 1 trauma ED. Two questions were addressed. Did KM affect how patients felt? Did viewing KM affect patient satisfaction with their care?
methodsKM was displayed on waiting area televisions. Questions were added to the patient experience survey (Press Ganey (PG)) to assess if patients watched KM and, if yes, how it made them feel. We report PG topbox scores (percentage of responses as 'very good').
results3176 survey responses were included in the analysis. Of these, 361 patients (11%) reported that they had watched KM. Of the 361 patients, 54% reported feeling more positive.In general, patients who watched KM had significantly higher top box scores across care-related questions stratified by waiting time satisfaction. For example, the top box percentage
conclusionsViewing KM in this ED is associated with a positive shift in patient perception of their care experience.
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