Factors Influencing: Use of Personal
Protective Equipment Among Health Workers
PPE is any equipment (for example, gloves)
worn by a person to protect that individual from exposure to one or more
hazards.
The PPE required depends on the following
factors: n characteristics of the biological agent being handled, n volumes and
concentrations of the biological agent, n presence of additional hazards (for
example, extreme temperatures, chemical or radiological hazards), n type of
work being carried out, n other risk control measures being used, such as a
biological safety cabinet (BSC), n other PPE being worn, n individual needs of
the laboratory personnel, and n availability of national regulations and organizational
requirements.(Organization, 2020a)
Making the workplace safe includes providing
instructions, procedures, training and supervision to encourage people to work
safely and responsibly. Even where engineering controls and safe systems of
work are in place, some hazards might remain. Such hazards may contribute to
injuries, including: n inhalation of contaminated air harming the lungs, n
falling materials harming the head or feet, n splashes of infectious materials
or hazardous chemicals harming the eyes, n contact with corrosive materials harming
the skin, and n extreme heat or cold harming the body.(Organization, 2020a)
The characteristics of the biological agent
that should be considered when determining the type of PPE to be worn include:
n routes of transmission, n infectious dose, n environmental stability, n
consequences of exposure and/or release, and n availability of vaccines or
prophylaxis.(Organization, 2020a)
Health care personnel (HCP) use of personal
protective equipment (PPE) reduces infectious disease transmission. However,
PPE compliance remains low. The objective of this study was to better
understand how HCP perceptions factor into PPE decision making as well as how
organizational processes and the environment impact behavior(Harrod et al., 2020)
Most of the barriers to using standard
precautions of infection control measures were the inadequate supplies of
safety devices and the unavailability of infection control protocol in the
hospitals(Alwabr and Al‑Salehi, 2022)
GPs must be well equipped with knowledge to
set up their clinics, use Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) appropriately,
adopt standard protocols on triaging and referrals, as well as educate patients
about PPE. The correct use of PPE will help GPs balance between personal safety
and appropriate levels of public concern.(Ambigapathy et al., 2020)
The PPE is able to prevent any invasion of the
virus particles into the system of an individual which is why it is an
essential item to have for healthcare workers. Due to the high demand for PPEs
all around the world, it is important to optimize the use of protective gear
and ration the supplies so that the demand are met. However, there are
guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to maintain the supply in the wake of
this increased demand of PPE, how the manufacturers should track their
supplies, and how the recipients should manage them.(Mahmood et al., 2020)
The worldwide outbreak of coronavirus
disease-19 (COVID-19) has already put healthcare workers (HCWs) at a high risk
of infection. The question of how to give HCWs the best protection against
infection is a priority(Tian et al., 2020)
WHO’s recommendations for the rational use of
personal protective equipment (PPE) in health care and community settings, as
well as during the handling of cargo; in this context, PPE includes gloves,
medical masks, goggles or a face shield, and gowns, as well as for specific
procedures, respirators (i.e. N95 or FFP2 standard or equivalent) and aprons.
It is intended for those involved in distributing and managing PPE, as well as
public health authorities and individuals in health care and community settings,
and it provides information about when PPE use is most appropriate. WHO will
continue update these recommendations as new information becomes available.(Organization, 2020b)
- By
the nature of their work at point-of-care, which involves providing care
for people with any transmissible infection, healthcare workers (HCWs) are
always at the highest risk of being infected. Nurses are at the forefront
of identifying transmissible infections (commencing at triage), initiating
isolation, implementing universal and transmission-based precautions, and
monitoring multidisciplinary HCWs adherence to IPC practice in the
clinical environment. Therefore, the emphasis of these synthesised findings
on knowledge, the person, and the environment calls for consideration in
reviewing current policies, training programs and clinical guidelines for
the prevention and control of transmissible viral infections.(Mutsonziwa et al., 2024)
Health care workers who handle hazardous drugs
are at risk of skin rashes, cancer, and reproductive disorders(Personal protective equipment for health care workers who work with hazardous drugs., 2008)
Wearing masks or personal protective equipment
(PPE) has become an integral part of the occupational life of physicians due to
the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic(Mahmud et al., 2022)
Hospital infection control policies protect
patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) and limit the spread of pathogens, but
adherence to COVID-19 guidance varies. We examined hospital HCWs' enactment of
social distancing and use of personal protective equipment (PPE) during the
COVID-19 pandemic, factors influencing these behaviours, and acceptability and
feasibility of strategies to increase social distancing.- RESULTS: The
decision to use PPE and to follow precaution practices was influenced by risk
perception as well as organizational and environmental factors. Perceived risk,
related to certain organisms and work tasks, was considered by HCP when
deciding to use PPE. Organizational processes, such as policies that were not
applied uniformly, and environmental factors, such as clean versus contaminated
space, also played a role in HCP PPE use.- CONCLUSION: Preventing the
spread of infectious organisms should not depend solely on PPE use, but should
also be recognized as an organizational responsibility.(Meyer et al., 2024)
Background Healthcare workers (HCWs) are
frontline responders to emergency infectious disease outbreaks such as
COVID-19. To avoid the rapid spread of disease, adherence to protective
measures is paramount. We investigated rates of correct use of personal
protective equipment (PPE), hand hygiene and physical distancing in UK HCWs who
had been to their workplace at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and factors
associated with adherence- DISCUSSION Adherence to PPBs among HCWs in the first
wave of the COVID-19 pandemic was imperfect. Given our use of self-report
measures, these estimates of adherence are likely overestimates. Factors
associated with complete adherence to PPE and physical distancing included
having received training about health and safety in the workplace for COVID-19
and greater perceived social pressure to adopt protective behaviours.
Non-adherence was associated with thinking there was ‘no point’ bothering with
PPE or social distancing if you had a lot of contact with patients with COVID-19
(fatalism) and greater perceived difficulty of using the measures (including
thinking PPBs made it difficult to do your job). Availability of PPE, workplace
design to facilitate distancing and greater perceived information sufficiency
were also associated with adopting individual PPBs. Factors associated with
adoption of PPBs in our study were similar to those identified by two recent
rapid reviews of HCW adherence to infection control measures in which most
studies were conducted on infectious disease outbreaks other than COVID-19.
These reviews also found that wearing PPE was associated with having(Smith et al., 2022)
INTRODUCTION:
Healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs) are an important contributor to
patient morbidity and mortality. Healthcare workers (HCWs) hands are the chief
mode of transmission of HCAIs. The emergency centre (EC) is frequently the
first point of contact for patients within the health care system. The aim of
this study is to determine compliance with hygiene practices among healthcare
workers at a tertiary hospital EC- CONCLUSION: Compliance with hygiene
practices among EC HCWs is suboptimal. Various strategies including ongoing
systematic training and regular audits may improve overall hygiene practices
among EC staff(Laher et al., 2021)
PROTECTIVE
CLOTHES AND EQUIPMENT FOR HEALTHCARE WORKERS TO PREVENT THEM CATCHING
CORONAVIRUS AND OTHER HIGHLY INFECTIOUS DISEASES Saudi Medical Journal 41, 557-558
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