B95: a new respirator for health care personnel

Details

• Personal Author:
  Davey VJ ; Eagan AE ; Gosch ME ; Radonovich LJ Jr. ; Roberge RJ ; Shaffer RE
• Description:
  Background: Respiratory protection relies heavily on user compliance to be effective, but compliance among health care personnel is less than ideal. Methods: In 2008, the Department of Veterans Affairs formed the Project Better Respiratory Equipment using Advanced Technologies for Healthcare Employees (BREATHE) Working Group, composed of a variety of federal stakeholders, to discuss strategies for improving respirator compliance, including the need for more comfortable respirators. Results: The Working Group developed 28 desirable performance characteristics that can be grouped into 4 key themes: (1) respirators should perform their intended function safely and effectively; (2) respirators should support, not interfere, with occupational activities; (3) respirators should be comfortable and tolerable for the duration of wear; and (4) respiratory protective programs should comply with federal/state standards and guidelines and local policies. As a necessary next step, the Working Group identified the need for a new class of respirators, to be called "B95," which would better address the unique needs of health care personnel. Conclusion: This article summarizes the outputs of the Project BREATHE Working Group and provides a national strategy to develop clinically validated respirator test methods, to promulgate B95 respirator standards, and to invent novel design features, which together will lead to commercialized B95 respirators. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Communicable Diseases
  • Health Personnel
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Respiratory Protective Devices
  • Safety
• Keywords:
  • Health-care-personnel
  • Respiratory-protection
  • Respiratory-protective-equipment
  • Respirators
  • Infection-control
  • Infectious-diseases
  • Author Keywords: Respiratory protection
  • Infection control
  • Occupational health
  • N95
  More +
• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  District of Columbia ; Florida ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  41
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20043409
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2013 Dec; 41(12):1224-1230
• Contact Point Address:
  Megan Gosch, MPH, 1601 Southwest Archer Road (151B) Gainesville, FL 32608
• Email:
  Megan.Gosch@va.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Healthcare and Social Assistance
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/195305/cdc_195305_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 501.61 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:633448f13625c4f67ed1c3a654b8e8936b8c05464587bad39c7100648a0e9a656f4226b2cf7a8ce89b8e3351e5f91e5d554274d00010ee0ca0ae80cd2d9fb2cf