Outpatient Healthcare Personnel Knowledge and Attitudes Towards Infection Prevention Measures for Protection from Respiratory Infections

Details

• Personal Author:
  Bessesen MT ; Brown AC ; Cummings DAT ; Frederick J ; Gaydos CA ; Gibert CL ; Gorse GJ ; Nyquist A-C ; Perl TM ; Price CS ; Radonovich LJ Jr. ; Rattigan S ; Reich NG ; Rodriguez-Barradas MC ; Simberkoff MS
• Description:
  Background: Healthcare personnel (HCP) knowledge and attitudes toward infection control measures are important determinants of practices that can protect them from transmission of infectious diseases. Methods: Healthcare personnel were recruited from Emergency Departments and outpatient clinics at seven sites. They completed knowledge surveys at the beginning and attitude surveys at the beginning and end of each season of participation. Attitudes toward infection prevention and control measures, especially medical masks and N95 respirators, were compared. The proportion of participants who correctly identified all components of an infection control bundle for seven clinical scenarios was calculated. Results: The proportion of participants in the medical mask group who reported at least one reason to avoid using medical masks fell from 88.5% on the pre-season survey to 39.6% on the post-season survey (odds ratio [OR] for preseason vs. postseason 0.11, 95% CI 0.10-0.14). Among those wearing N95 respirators, the proportion fell from 87.9% to 53.6% (OR 0.24, 95% CI 0.21-0.28). Participants correctly identified all components of the infection control bundle for 4.9% to 38.5% of scenarios. Conclusions: Attitudes toward medical masks and N95 respirators improved significantly between the beginning and end of each season. The proportion of HCP who correctly identified the infection control precautions needed for clinical scenarios was low, but it improved over successive years of participation in the study. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Communicable Diseases Education Health Personnel Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protective Devices Respiratory System Respiratory Tract Diseases Safety Viral Diseases

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• Keywords:
  Attitude Attitudes Author Keywords: Infection Control Face Masks Health Care Personnel Health Care Workers Humans Infection Control Masks Medical Personnel N95 N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Personal Protection Personal Protective Equipment PPE Respirators Respiratory Equipment Respiratory Infections Respiratory Protective Equipment Safety Education Viral Infections

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• ISSN:
  0196-6553
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Colorado ; District of Columbia ; Florida ; Maryland ; Massachusetts ; Michigan ; Missouri ; New York ; OSHA Region 1 ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 6 ; OSHA Region 7 ; OSHA Region 8 ; Texas ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  RHD - Respiratory Health Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  49
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20063091
• Citation:
  Am J Infect Control 2021 Nov; 49(11):1369-1375
• Contact Point Address:
  Mary T Bessesen, Veterans Affairs Eastern Colorado Healthcare System, Aurora, CO, USA
• Email:
  Mary.Bessesen@cuanschutz.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Infection Control
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:573147c55ee15b54e0f5bdbe730b6b2e6e56eeff888de04ea94c095d643b2fcffef86e8253fdb5164b7e9fd7485e0262746adf224c5fc4911592090593288768
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/226215/cdc_226215_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 338.23 KB ]