Health Care Workers’ Comfort Ratings for Elastomeric Half Mask Respirators Versus N95® Filtering Facepiece Respirators During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Details

• Personal Author:
  Benavides E ; Fernando RD ; Hornbeck A ; Kasbaum M ; Kraft CS ; Lane M ; McClain C ; Ostrosky-Zeichner L ; Patlovich SJ ; Pompeii L ; Rios J ; Sietsema M
• Description:
  Background: Reusable elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMR) are an alternative to address shortages of disposable respirators. While respirator discomfort has been noted as a barrier to adherence to wearing an N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) among health care personnel (HCP), few have examined EHMR comfort while providing patient care, which was the purpose of this study. Method: Among a cohort of 183 HCP, we prospectively examined how HCP rated EHMR tolerability using the Respirator Comfort, Wearing Experience, and Function Instrument (R-COMFI) questionnaire at Study Week 2 and Week 10. At the completion of the study (Week-12), HCP compared EHMR comfort with their prior N95 FFR use. Overall R-COMFI scores and three subscales (comfort, wear experience, and function) were examined as well as individual item scores. Findings: The HCP reported an improved overall R-COMFI score (lower score more favorable, 30.0 vs. 28.7/47, respectively) from Week 2 to Week 10. Many individual item scores improved or remained low over this period, except difficulty communicating with patients and coworkers. The overall R-COMFI scores for the EHMR were more favorable than for the N95 FFR (33.7 vs. 37.4, respectively), with a large proportion of workers indicating their perception that EHMR fit better, provided better protection, and they preferred to wear it in pandemic conditions compared with the N95 FFR. Conclusion/Application to Practice: Findings suggest that the EHMR is a feasible respiratory protection device with respect to tolerance. EHMRs can be considered as a possible alternative to the N95 FFR in the health care setting. Future work is needed in the EHMR design to improve communication. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Elastomers Health Personnel Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Safety Surveys And Questionnaires
• Keywords:
  Asthma Author Keywords: COVID-19 COVID-19 Elastomeric Half-mask Respirators Healthcare Worker Health Care Workers Homecare Worker N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Personal Protective Equipment PPE Questionnaires Respirators Respiratory Conditions Respiratory Protection

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• ISSN:
  2165-0799
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Contract
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Ohio ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 5 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  261-272
• Volume:
  72
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20069548
• Citation:
  Workplace Health Saf 2024 Jul; 72(7):261-272
• Contact Point Address:
  Lisa Pompeii, PhD, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, 3333 Burnet Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA
• Email:
  lisa.pompeii@cchmc.org
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2024
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Workplace Health & Safety
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d4f8002e255b8302da3494163471642b29791cd7174c952991dfd7fce584f7aedc0602d7b57d32a4300d4d4ee7f4312adb8b95ea4627a97d9ba4f5d02d8860b7
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/207966/cdc_207966_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 406.20 KB ]