Ramanathan Swaminathan 1 , Bimantha Perera Mukundadura 2 , Shashi Prasad 3 Show Affiliations »
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the use of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare workers in patient-facing roles. We describe the impact on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE consistently. METHODS: We conducted a single-centre, cross-sectional study among healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE. A web-based questionnaire was disseminated to evaluate the effects on individuals' physical and mental well-being. Physical and mental impact was assessed through a visual analogue scale. RESULTS: Prospective analysis of the views of 72 respondents is reported. 63.9% were women and 36.1% were men. Physical impact included exhaustion, headache, skin changes, breathlessness and a negative impact on vision. Communication difficulties, somnolence, negative impact on overall performance and difficulties in using surgical instrumentation were reported. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates the undeniable negative impact on the front-line healthcare workers using enhanced PPE and lays the ground for larger multicentric assessments given for it to potentially be the norm for the foreseeable future. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated the use of enhanced personal protective equipment (PPE) in healthcare workers in patient-facing roles. We describe the impact on the physical and mental well-being of healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE consistently. METHODS: We conducted a single-centre, cross-sectional study among healthcare professionals who use enhanced PPE. A web-based questionnaire was disseminated to evaluate the effects on individuals' physical and mental well-being. Physical and mental impact was assessed through a visual analogue scale. RESULTS: Prospective analysis of the views of 72 respondents is reported. 63.9% were women and 36.1% were men. Physical impact included exhaustion, headache, skin changes, breathlessness and a negative impact on vision. Communication difficulties, somnolence, negative impact on overall performance and difficulties in using surgical instrumentation were reported. CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrates the undeniable negative impact on the front-line healthcare workers using enhanced PPE and lays the ground for larger multicentric assessments given for it to potentially be the norm for the foreseeable future. © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.
Entities: Chemical
Keywords:
adult otolaryngology; health policy; infection control; mental health
Mesh： See more »
Year: 2020
PMID： 33273107 DOI： 10.1136/postgradmedj-2020-139150
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Postgrad Med J ISSN： 0032-5473 Impact factor: 2.401