scholarly journals Changes in skin characteristics after using respiratory protective equipment (medical masks and respirators) in the COVID‐19 pandemic among health care workers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye Sung Han ◽  
Sun Hye Shin ◽  
Jae Wan Park ◽  
Kapsok Li ◽  
Beom Joon Kim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Care Workers

scholarly journals COVID – 19 related knowledge and preventive practices early in the outbreak among health care workers in selected public health facilities of Illu aba Bor and Buno Bedelle zones, Southwest Ethiopia

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dereje Tsegaye ◽  
Muluneh Shuremu ◽  
Dereje Oljira ◽  
Sileshi Dubale ◽  
Getachew Befekadu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Infection Prevention ◽  
Health Facilities ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Southwest Ethiopia ◽  
Preventive Practices ◽  
Care Workers

Abstract Background Novel-coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) disease is currently a worldwide health risk and public health emergency concern. The virus is transmitted from an infected person to another person through close contact and droplets. Frontline health care workers are the most at risk of infection, and so a WHO interim guidance document was issued by the World Health Organization (WHO) which underscores the importance of proper sanitation and waste management practices for COVID- 19 in health-care settings. This study aimed at assessing knowledge and preventive practices towards Covid-19 among health care providers in selected health facilities of Illu Aba Bor and Buno Bedele zones, Southwest Ethiopia. Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from April to May 2020 among 330 health workers in selected health facilities of Illu Aba Bor and Buno-Bedelle Zones, Southwest Ethiopia. Data were collected using a self-administered structured questionnaire. The collected data were entered into Epidata version 3.1 and exported to SPSS version 23 for analysis. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify independent predictors of preventive practices towards Covid-19. Statistical significance was declared at a p-value of < 0.05. Result The majority of respondents (93.3%) demonstrated good knowledge of COVID-19, and the mean (SD) knowledge score was 9.04 ± 1.06. Nearly two-thirds (64.2%) of the study participants had good infection prevention practices. Being male (AOR = 3.65, 95% CI: (1.96, 6.80)), education level (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI (1.02, 3.22)), profession (AOR = 3.17, 95% CI (1.08, 9.33)), service year (5–10 years) (AOR = 2.00 (1.02, 3.92)) and more than 10 years (AOR = 3.14 (1.51, 6.52)), availability of personal protective equipment (AOR = 1.96 (1.06, 3.61)) and Knowledge level (AOR = 2.61 (1.48, 4.62)) were independent predictors of COVID-19 preventive practices. Conclusion The overall level of knowledge of HCWs was good. However, the practice was relatively low. Gender, educational status, profession, year of service, knowledge towards COVID-19, and availability of personal protective equipment were independent predictors of good infection prevention practices. Optimizing the infection prevention and control loop of the health facilities is recommended.

scholarly journals Adherence to personal protective equipment use among healthcare workers caring for confirmed COVID-19 and alleged non-COVID-19 patients

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Meike M. Neuwirth ◽  
Frauke Mattner ◽  
Robin Otchwemah
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Care Workers

AbstractAdherence observations of health care workers (HCW) revealed deficiencies in the use of recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) among HCW caring in COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 wards during the first period of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in a university hospital in Germany. The adherence to wearing surgical face or FFP2-masks and disinfecting hands prior to donning and after doffing the PPE was significantly higher in COVID-19 wards However, there was no total adherence of 100% in COVID-19 wards.

scholarly journals Utilization of an Orthopedic Hood as Personal Protective Equipment for Intubation of Coronavirus Patients: a Brief Technical Report

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
pp. 215145932093055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Timothy T. Wills ◽  
Wilhelm A. Zuelzer ◽  
Bryant W. Tran
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
High Risk ◽  
Endotracheal Intubation ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Ventilation System ◽  
The United States ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Technical Report

Background: The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has afflicted millions of people worldwide since its first case was reported in December 2019. Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been tailored accordingly, but as of April 2020, close to 10 000 health care workers in the United States have contracted COVID-19 despite wearing recommended PPE. As such, standard guidelines for PPE may be inadequate for the health care worker performing high-risk aerosolizing procedures such as endotracheal intubation. In this brief technical report, we describe the integration of an orthopedic hood cover as an item for full barrier protection against COVID-19 transmission. Technical Description: The Coronavirus Airway Task Force at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center approved this initiative and went live with the full barrier suit during the last week of March 2020. The PPE described in this report includes a Stryker T4 Hood, normally used in conjunction with the Stryker Steri-Shield T4 Helmet. Instead of the helmet, the hood is secured to the head via a baseball cap and binder clip. This head covering apparatus is to be used as an accessory to other PPE items that include an N95 mask, waterproof gown, and disposable gloves. The motor ventilation system is not used in order to prevent airborne viral entry into the hood. Discussion: An advantage of the full barrier suit is an additional layer of droplet protection during intubation. The most notable disadvantage is the absence of a ventilation system within the hood covering. Conclusion: Modification of existing PPE may provide protection for health care workers during high-risk aerosolizing procedures such as endotracheal intubation. Although the integration of this medical equipment meets the immediate needs of an escalating crisis, further innovation is on the horizon. More research is needed to confirm the safety of modified PPE.

scholarly journals Teaching Adequate Prehospital Use of Personal Protective Equipment During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Development of a Gamified e-Learning Module

10.2196/20173 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. e20173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Suppan ◽  
Birgit Gartner ◽  
Eric Golay ◽  
Loric Stuby ◽  
Marion White ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Learning Objectives ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Learning Module ◽  
Game Mechanics ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
E Learning ◽  
The Impact

Background The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has led to increased use of personal protective equipment (PPE). Adequate use of this equipment is more critical than ever because the risk of shortages must be balanced against the need to effectively protect health care workers, including prehospital personnel. Specific training is therefore necessary; however, the need for social distancing has markedly disrupted the delivery of continuing education courses. Electronic learning (e-learning) may provide significant advantages because it requires neither the physical presence of learners nor the repetitive use of equipment for demonstration. Objective Inclusion of game mechanics, or “gamification,” has been shown to increase knowledge and skill acquisition. The objective of this research was to develop a gamified e-learning module to interactively deliver concepts and information regarding the correct choice and handling of PPE. Methods The SERES framework was used to define and describe the development process, including scientific and design foundations. After we defined the target audience and learning objectives by interviewing the stakeholders, we searched the scientific literature to establish relevant theoretical bases. The learning contents were validated by infection control and prehospital experts. Learning mechanics were then determined according to the learning objectives, and the content that could benefit from the inclusion of game mechanics was identified. Results The literature search resulted in the selection and inclusion of 12 articles. In addition to gamification, pretesting, feedback, avoiding content skipping, and demonstrations using embedded videos were used as learning mechanics. Gamification was used to enhance the interactivity of the PPE donning and doffing sequences, which presented the greatest learning challenges. The module was developed with Articulate Storyline 3 to ensure that it would be compatible with a wide array of devices, as this software generates HTML5-compatible output that can be accessed on smartphones, tablets, and regular computers as long as a recent browser is available. Conclusions A gamified e-learning module designed to promote better knowledge and understanding of PPE use among prehospital health care workers was created by following the SERES framework. The impact of this module should now be assessed by means of a randomized controlled trial.

scholarly journals Fatigue among health care workers during emergency interventions using biological personal protective equipment: an observational simulation study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Martín-Rodríguez ◽  
Ancor Sanz-García ◽  
Raúl López-Izquierdo ◽  
Juan F. Delgado Benito ◽  
José L. Martín-Conty ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Simulation Study ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Risk Model ◽  
Outcome Variable ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Emergency Team ◽  
Physiological Tolerance ◽  
Care Workers

Abstract Background : Biohazard incidents are ordinary situations usually managed by health systems with the mandatory priority of preventing the spread of the pathogen. Health care workers in charge of dealing with these situations must be equipped with personal protective equipment (PPE) for her/his own security. The main objective of this study was developing a risk model to predict whether health care workers will tolerate wearing PPE, III category, 4B / 5B / 6B type, against biological risks during a 30 minutes intervention. Methods : A preliminary, prospective, simulation study, without intervention was conducted at the Advanced Simulation Center at the Medicine Faculty of Valladolid University (Spain) from April 3rd to 28th, 2017. Students and professional's health care were equipped with a PPE and performed a 30 minutes-long biohazard simulation. Anthropometric, physiological, analytical variables, and anxiety levels were measured pre- and post-simulation. A scoring model was constructed by using the estimate regression coefficients of the significant variables obtained from a multivariate model of the logistic regression for the outcome variable. Results : 96 volunteers with median age of 26 years (25th-75th percentile: 22-41 years) of which 56 (58.3%) were women enter into the test. Half of the sample presented metabolic fatigue after 20 minutes of finishing the simulation. The predictive model included female sex, height, both muscle and bone mass and moderate level of physical activity. The validity of the main model using all the variables presented an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.86 (95%CI: 0.786-0.935), and the validity of the model presented an AUC of 0.725 (95%CI: 0.559-0.89). Conclusions : Decision-making in biohazard incidents is a challenge for emergency team leaders. An a priori knowledge of physiological tolerance of wearing a PPE of the health care workers could improve their performance. The model presented here could help in the assessment of the worker response under biohazard conditions.

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