Making the Invisible Visible: Why Does Design Matter for Safe Doffing of Personal Protection Equipment?

Details

• Personal Author:
  Casanova LM ; DuBose JR ; Durso FT ; Erukunuakpor K ; Jacob JT ; Kraft CS ; Matic Z ; Mumma JM ; Shah P ; Walsh VL ; Wong Sala MF ; Zimring CM
• Corporate Authors:
  CDC Prevention Epicenters Program
• Description:
  Doffing personal protective equipment (PPE) after caring for patients with serious communicable diseases such as Ebola virus disease (EVD) can be both complex (ie, taking at least 10 minutes for at least 20 steps) and a major risk point of potential exposure for the healthcare worker (HCW). The 2014 Ebola outbreak revealed gaps and opportunities for PPE doffing protocols, including the role of the built environment (ie, the layout and design of spaces for care and doffing) in either supporting or detracting from safe doffing. Because most Ebola treatment centers were repurposed intensive care units or emergency department rooms and were not intentionally designed to treat serious communicable diseases, the built environment has been underappreciated until recently.1 As of this writing, a new Ebola outbreak is occurring in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and these lessons apply both to the treatment of EVD and other highly communicable diseases and to the doffing of routine PPE. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Environmental Exposure Health Personnel Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Protective Clothing Risk Assessment Risk Factors Safety Viral Diseases
• Keywords:
  Diseases Ebola Virus Disease Exposure Levels Health Care Workers Personal Protective Equipment PPE Protective Clothing Protective Materials Protective Measures Risk Factors Viral Diseases

  More +
• ISSN:
  0899-823X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064426
• Citation:
  Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018 Nov; 39(11):1375-1377
• Contact Point Address:
  Craig Zimring, PhD, School of Architecture, SimTigrate Design Lab, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0155
• Email:
  craig.zimring@gatech.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2019
• Performing Organization:
  Georgia State University
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20150901
• Source Full Name:
  Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20180831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f381f7fb2e4581cd23cc4acdbd49c2aefb6b4aba686b6b7f9384f94368480f0b73c057a340693343ce1eeca3e290d7bf2efe4b1c6525f9af22f10242e1e5df1f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222884/cdc_222884_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 133.75 KB ]