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Lack of availability reduces use of face protection
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New data published in the American Journal of Infection Control suggest that common reasons health care providers did not routinely use face protection include a lack of supplies available at the point of care and a perceived lack of need.
“It is important for hospital infection prevention programs to recognize that if face protection supplies are not available at every bedspace or room, a substantial proportion of providers may choose to omit using face protection in situations in which it is indicated,” researchers wrote.
Joanne Kinlay, RN, BSN, MMSc, CIC, of Boston Children’s Hospital, and colleagues administered a survey to staff members after learning that providers were exposed to Neisseria meningitidis after performing open suctioning on a patient without wearing face protection before the diagnosis was considered. The survey included 10 questions on how often face protection was used and barriers to using face protection.
The survey was sent to 606 staff and 221 responded, primarily registered nurses (81%). Few respondents reported always wearing masks or eye protection while suctioning patients. Forty-eight percent of the respondents said face protection is not a priority in an emergency. Of the respondents, 35% said face protection is not available in patient rooms, and 15% said they had to walk too far to obtain it. Other reasons for not wearing face protection included not thinking it was necessary (25%), not needing it because of wearing eyeglasses (14%), feeling it impeded vision (8%) and feeling it was uncomfortable to wear (7%).
The locations for face protection included clean supply room (43%), precaution carts outside a patient’s room (31%) and inside the patient’s room (26%). Fifty-two percent of respondents thought it should be kept inside the patient’s room to be more accessible.
“The role of the infection prevention program should be to ensure that reasonable options are easily accessible and that providers fully understand the potential risk of transmission of infection at the time they make their decision,” the researchers wrote.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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