Personal protective equipment: knowledge of the guidance

Abstract

Background: On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global pandemic in the wake of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. The unpredictable nature of transmission of COVID-19 requires a meticulous understanding of guidance on personal protective equipment (PPE) as published by WHO and Public Health England (PHE). Aim: To assess perceived confidence and knowledge of PHE guidance relating to PPE by nursing staff. Methods: A nationwide survey was disseminated between May and June 2020 through social media platforms as well as internal mail via regulatory bodies and individual hospital trusts. Results: Data were collated from 339 nurses. Perceived confidence as measured on a Likert scale was a mode score of 3/5, with the average score for knowledge-based questions being 5/10. Of the respondents, 47% cited insufficient training on PPE guidance, and 84% advocated further training. Conclusions: Unifying published PPE guidance and ensuring consistency in training can improve awareness, confidence, and knowledge among nursing staff.

Assessing the confidence, knowledge and learning preferences of healthcare workers regarding personal protective equipment use during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic

“…Confidence and core knowledge were also higher in our study compared to estimates reported in a nationwide survey of nurses in the United Kingdom. 5 The higher estimates reported in our study could be due to remaining differences between our respondents and those in the other studies referenced, such as the inclusion in our study of more providers specializing in the care of adults and exclusively providing care in an academic setting. Differences in approaches to training may also have resulted in greater confidence and knowledge.…”

“…In addition, our statistical analyses were unadjusted. However, our study did include a larger sample size than reported in other similar evaluations (5,6), and included a diverse set of respondents, with findings that may be generalizable to other urban academic medical centers in the US.…”

“…Appropriate use of personal protective equipment (PPE) by healthcare workers (HCWs) is critical to preventing transmission of COVID-19 (1)(2)(3). Although studies have examined HCW knowledge of appropriate PPE practices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic outside the United States (US), to our knowledge no evaluation of HCWs in the US has been published (4,5). In this study, we examine the confidence, knowledge and learning preferences of HCWs with regards to PPE practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in one urban academic hospital in the US.…”

An evaluation of critical knowledge areas for managing the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Alongside sufficient provision of equipment and clear guidance, knowledge and adherence to the appropriate use of PPE among health professionals is required. Adequate PPE is, therefore, of paramount importance in ensuring the safety of health professionals working on the frontline, particularly those participating in aerosol-generating procedures (AGPs) (Bhamra et al , 2021). Researchers widely believe that mortality would be reduced if the medical supply and PPE supply chains were protected (Swanson and Santamaria, 2021).…”