Current practices and barriers to the use of facemasks and respirators among hospital-based health care workers in Vietnam

Abstract

In low and middle-income countries, access to appropriate levels of personal protective equipment may be restricted owing to competing demands for funding in hospital settings. It is important that issues around reuse and extended use of medical masks/respirators and decontamination of cloth masks are addressed in policy documents to minimize the risk of infection.

Australian Hajj pilgrims' infection control beliefs and practices: Insight with implications for public health approaches

“…An important perception elicited from this group, not previously reported in the literature, is feeling of isolation from others when using the facemasks. Similar findings have been reported among emergency department health care workers [24], but not previously among Hajj pilgrims. Another unique finding to emerge from our study was that female pilgrims preferred to use a niqab (face veil) instead of a facemask because the niqab is more comfortable and breathable.…”

Facemasks for the prevention of infection in healthcare and community settings

“…119 During the H1N1-pdm09 pandemic, the s upply of respirators was exhausted in many hospitals, and healthcare workers had to reuse respirators or rely on other types of facemask. 120 121 Current stockpiling guidelines are based on assumptions about the size and duration of a pandemic, hospital stay, number of healthcare workers, and length of shifts, 122 but these may be inaccurate.…”

“…123 124 It has been documented that non-standard practices occur during outbreaks, especially when there is a shortage of supplies. 119 There is very little research on such practices, which include reuse, cleaning of facemasks, and double masking. 125 The balance between risk perception and discomfort affects individual decisions to use facemasks and respirators.…”

Practices around the use of masks and respirators among hospital health care workers in 3 diverse populations

“…1 Varying practices around the use of masks and respirators at the facility level might be caused by conflicting guidance from the World Health Organization and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1,2 and the availability of the certain type of masks and respirators in the hospitals. 4 Although respirators are reported to be more protective than medical masks, 2 few hospitals in this study reported using respirators; and among those that did, registered adherence with comprehensive respiratory protection programs (ie, regulations, medical evaluation, training, fit testing) appeared to be low. 5 NOTE.…”

“…Because of the shortage of supplies during outbreaks and pandemic, it is perhaps not surprising that HCWs are resorting to unproven practices around mask use, such as the use of paper (a type of medical masks with a single layer) and cloth masks and double-masking, extended use, and applying various decontamination methods to extend the life of the masks or respirators. 4 Paper and cloth masks are commonly used in low-resource countries 4,6 ; however, there are a lack of data around their efficacy. 2 Extended use and reuse of masks and respirators are not recommended because of the risk of self-contamination and infection.…”