Evaluation of a Redesigned Personal Protective Equipment Gown

Autor: Matthew H. Samore, Frank A. Drews, Jeanmarie Mayer, Diane Mulvey, Kristina Stratford
Rok vydání: 2019
Předmět:
Microbiology (medical)
Infectious Disease Transmission
Patient-to-Professional
020205 medical informatics
Health Personnel
Supplement Articles
gown
02 engineering and technology
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
Airborne transmission
Task (project management)
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Protective Clothing
Health care
0202 electrical engineering
electronic engineering
information engineering
medicine
Humans
030212 general & internal medicine
Personal Protective Equipment
Personal protective equipment
Protocol (science)
Cross Infection
evaluation
business.industry
User satisfaction
Usability
Hemorrhagic Fever
Ebola
medicine.disease
3. Good health
usability
Infectious Diseases
Evaluation Studies as Topic
Virus Diseases
PPE
Observational study
Medical emergency
business
Zdroj: Clinical Infectious Diseases
Clinical Infectious Diseases: An Official Publication of the Infectious Diseases Society of America
ISSN: 1537-6591
1058-4838
DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciz520
Popis: Background In healthcare, the goal of personal protective equipment (PPE) is to protect healthcare personnel (HCP) and patients from body fluids and infectious organisms via contact, droplet, or airborne transmission. The critical importance of using PPE properly is highlighted by 2 potentially fatal viral infections, severe acute respiratory syndrome–associated coronavirus and Ebola virus, where HCP became infected while caring for patients due to errors in the use of PPE. However, PPE in dealing with less dangerous, but highly infectious organisms is important as well. This work proposes a framework to test and evaluate PPE with a focus on gown design. Methods An observational study identified issues with potential for contamination related to gown use. After redesigning the existing gown, a high-fidelity patient simulator study with 40 HCP as participants evaluated the gown redesign using 2 commonly performed tasks. Variables of interest were nonadherence to procedural standards, use problems with the gown during task performance, and usability and cognitive task load ratings of the standard and redesigned gowns. Results While no differences were found in terms of nonadherence and use problems between the current and the redesigned gown, differences in usability and task load ratings suggested that the redesigned gown is perceived more favorably by HCP. Conclusions This work proposes a framework to guide the evaluation of PPE. The results suggest that the current design of the PPE gown can be improved in usability and user satisfaction. Although our data did not find an increase in adherence to protocol when using the redesigned gown, it is likely that higher usability and lower task load could result in higher adherence over longer periods of use.
To improve personal protective equipment adherence, a simulator study evaluated a redesigned gown for usability in comparison to a standard gown. The results of this study suggest that the redesigned gown was more usable and reduced cognitive task load.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: