Effectiveness of Personal Protective Equipment in Preventing Coronavirus Infection and Emerging Infectious Diseases among Central Service Technicians in Thailand

Abstract

Coronavirus disease , caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and first reported in December 2019, has become a pandemic. Central service technicians, also known as sterile processing technicians, are responsible for cleaning, sterilizing, and distributing medical equipment and supplies used in healthcare settings. The use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as gloves, gowns, masks, and goggles can act as a barrier to block or reduce exposure to the virus. Additionally, using PPE allows healthcare workers to handle and prepare contaminated equipment without risking the spread of the diseases. The Central Sterile Services Department(CSSD) at Sappasitthiprasong Hospital in Ubon Ratchathani, Thailand, supports all units in this facility with sterile medical equipment. The purpose of this research was to study the effectiveness of central service technicians complying standard with the PPE of preventing coronavirus infection and emerging infectious diseases. This research was conducted from October 2021 to March 2022. Purposive the sample of 30 was used in this study. Most central service technicians report having fair or poor on perceived standard to used PPE (80.0%). After the observation the signification higher level of perceived standard of using personal protective equipments for isolation gown, goggles, face shield, gloves, head cover of the study group was found, than before the study (p<0.005). Central service technicians' group had significantly higher level of perceived benefits of using personal protective equipments behavior than before the study (p<0.005). The findings of this study show that the effectiveness of central service technicians complying standard with the personal protective equipment (PPE) of preventing coronavirus infection and emerging infectious diseases.