To have or not to have flowers?

Abstract

Flowers have many roles in a hospital setting but could present risks to patients. Our aim is to understand patient preferences for having flowers on the ward and whether they believe that flowers make their respiratory symptoms worse. Patients were surveyed by a single interviewer on a respiratory and gastroenterology ward at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland, New Zealand. Thirty patients were enrolled. Twenty-six patients (87%) did not mind having flowers on the ward. Patients who did mind (four) were concerned about flowers affecting their own health or the health of others - all but one had a diagnosis of a lung condition. Eleven patients (38%) felt that flowers would exacerbate their breathing problems or hay fever symptoms; however, only four of these patients wanted flowers removed from the wards for these reasons. The majority of patients in our survey did not mind having flowers on the ward although some were concerned that flowers might exacerbate their symptoms.