Dataset Information

Health care workers' perceptions and reported use of respiratory protective equipment: A qualitative analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Little is known about health care workers' (HCW) perceptions of, or experiences using, respiratory protective equipment (RPE). We sought to characterize their perceptions and identify reasons underlying inappropriate use.

Methods

We conducted 12 focus groups with nurses and nursing assistants at 4 medical centers. We analyzed the thematic content of 73 discrete "stories" told by focus group participants.

Results

We identified 5 story types surrounding RPE use: 1) policies are known and seen during work routines; 2) during protocol lapses, use is reinforced through social norms; 3) clinical experiences sometimes supersede protocol adherence; 4) when risk perception is high, we found concern regarding accessing RPE; and 5) HCWs in emergency departments were viewed as not following protocol because risk was ever-present.

Discussion

HCWs were aware of the importance of RPE and protocols for using it, and these supported use when protocol lapses occurred. However, protocol adherence was undermined by clinical experience, perceived risk, and the distinct context of the emergency department where patients continually arrive with incomplete or delayed diagnoses.

Conclusions

Protocols, visual cues, and social norms contribute to a culture of safety. This culture can be undermined when HCWs experience diagnostic uncertainty or they mistrust the protocol and instead rely on their clinical experiences.

SUBMITTER: Fix GM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7115305 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Health care workers' perceptions and reported use of respiratory protective equipment: A qualitative analysis.

Fix Gemmae M GM Reisinger Heather Schacht HS Etchin Anna A McDannold Sarah S Eagan Aaron A Findley Kimberly K Gifford Allen L AL Gupta Kalpana K McInnes D Keith DK

American journal of infection control 20190607 10

<h4>Background</h4>Little is known about health care workers' (HCW) perceptions of, or experiences using, respiratory protective equipment (RPE). We sought to characterize their perceptions and identify reasons underlying inappropriate use.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted 12 focus groups with nurses and nursing assistants at 4 medical centers. We analyzed the thematic content of 73 discrete "stories" told by focus group participants.<h4>Results</h4>We identified 5 story types surrounding RPE use: 1) ...[more]

PMID: 31182235

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Project description:BackgroundCritically ill patients with 2009 H1N1 influenza are often treated in intensive care units (ICUs), representing significant risk of nosocomial transmission to critical care clinicians and other patients. Despite a large body of literature and guidelines recommending infection control practices, numerous barriers have been identified in ICUs, leading to poor compliance to the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). The use of PPE among critical care clinicians has not been extensively evaluated, especially during the pandemic influenza. This study examined the knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported behaviors, and barriers to compliance with the use of PPE among ICU healthcare workers (HCWs) during the pandemic influenza.Methodology/principal findingsA survey instrument consisting of 36 questions was developed and mailed to all HCWs in 21 ICUs in 17 provinces in China. A total of 733 physicians, nurses, and other professionals were surveyed, and 650 (88.7%) were included in the analysis. Fifty-six percent of respondents reported having received training program of pandemic influenza before they cared for H1N1 patients, while 77% reported to have adequate knowledge of self and patient protection. Only 18% of respondents were able to correctly identify all components of PPE, and 55% reported high compliance (>80%) with PPE use during patient care. In multivariate analysis, vaccination for 2009 H1N1 influenza, positive attitudes towards PPE use, organizational factors such as availability of PPE in ICU, and patient information of influenza precautions, as well as reprimand for noncompliance by the supervisors were associated with high compliance, whereas negative attitudes towards PPE use and violation of PPE use were independent predictors of low compliance.Conclusion/significanceKnowledge and self-reported compliance to recommended PPE use among Chinese critical care clinicians is suboptimal. The perceived barriers should be addressed in order to close the significant gap between perception and knowledge or behavior.

Project description:ObjectivesEffective implementation of prevention and control actions by health professionals is substantial to contain the deadly COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, this study aimed to assess health care worker's practice of using personal protective equipment and psychological preparedness against the COVID-19 pandemic in Eastern Ethiopia.MethodsA facility-based cross-sectional study design was used. The health care workers (HCW) who were working in the selected health facilities were randomly selected. Variables that had p-value of < 0.15 were transformed to multivariable logistic regression model. Finally, the significance level was declared at the p-value < 0.05 with a 95% confidence interval (CI).ResultsA total of 418 HCWs were randomly selected and included in this study. The study participants mean age was 27.96 years with a ±5.6SD. HCWs who were male (adjusted odds ratio(AOR) = 2.21, 95% CI: 1.29-3.79), regularly using sanitizer, accessing COVID-19 management guideline (AOR = 2.83, 95% CI: 1.46-5.47), trained on COVID-19 prevention methods (AOR = 2.6, 95% CI: 1.4-4.7), hopeless of eventually getting COVID-19 at workplace (AOR = 1.9, 95% CI: 1.13-3.28), and feeling unsafe at work when using standard precautions (AOR = 0.46, 95% CI: 0.27-0.79) were associated with good PPE using compared to their counterparts. Moreover, nursing/midwifery professionals practiced good personal protective equipment compared to physicians (AOR = 3.7, 95% CI: 1.8-7.7).ConclusionThe study demonstrated that being a male, being a nurse/midwifery, regularly sanitizing hands/medical equipment, having COVID-19 management guidelines, trained on COVID-19, and feeling of eventually getting COVID-19 at workplace had a positive association with PPE utilization. Besides, the study revealed that not feeling safe at work when using standard precautions was negatively associated with PPE utilization of HCWs. Therefore, the prevention priorities should be given to frontline HCWs by providing all possible support and strictly implementing the prevention and control guidelines of COVID-19 to prevent the health system from collapse.

Dataset Information

Health care workers' perceptions and reported use of respiratory protective equipment: A qualitative analysis.

Background

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusions

Publications

Health care workers' perceptions and reported use of respiratory protective equipment: A qualitative analysis.

Similar Datasets

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