ArticleJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open2021
An international survey of healthcare workers use of personal protective equipment during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pandemic planning for primary care in Southwestern Ontario: protocol for a sequential multiple-methods design.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Surge capacity and practice management challenges of Canadian family physicians during COVID-19: a qualitative study.Human resources for health · 2025Article
- The Implementation of Infection Prevention and Control Procedures in Primary Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Nursing Roles.Journal of nursing management · 2025Article
- In their own words: a qualitative survey of healthcare providers' experiences with personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.Annals of work exposures and health · 2024Article
- The Dilemmas, Distresses, and Rewards Experienced by Nurses Working in COVID-19 Wards: A Qualitative Study.F1000Research · 2024Article
- Practice- and System-Based Interventions to Reduce COVID-19 Transmission in Primary Care Settings: A Qualitative Study.Healthcare policy = Politiques de sante · 2023Article
- Role of Oral Intake, Mobility, and Activity Measures in Informing Discharge Recommendations for Hospitalized Inmate and Noninmate Patients With COVID-19: Retrospective Analysis.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2023Article
- Challenges and future opportunities to unlock the critical supply chain of personal and protective equipment (PPE) encompassing decontamination and reuse under emergency use authorization (EUA) conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic: Through a reflective circularity and sustainability lens.The Science of the total environment · 2023Review
- Preventive Measures among Healthcare Workers (HCWs) during the COVID-19 Pandemic.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Family physicians' responses to personal protective equipment shortages in four regions in Canada: a qualitative study.BMC primary care · 2023Article
- End-user acceptability of personal protective equipment disinfection for potential reuse: a survey of health-care workers in Aotearoa New Zealand.The Lancet. Planetary health · 2023Article
- SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence in healthcare workers and risk factors.Infection, disease & health · 2022Article
- Prevalence and Health Outcomes ofOpen forum infectious diseases · 2022Article
- Evaluating fomite risk of brown paper bags storing personal protective equipment exposed to SARS-CoV-2: A quasi-experimental study.PloS one · 2022Article
- An international survey of healthcare workers use of personal protective equipment during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic.Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians open · 2021Article
- Emergency Medicine Telehealth: A Pandemic Becomes a Gateway for Virtual Care in Missouri.Missouri medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
16 authors at 8 institutions in 4 countries.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveLittle is known regarding the specific ways personal protective equipment (PPE) has been used and reused during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The objective of this study was to evaluate the patterns of PPE use and the impact of PPE availability on the attitudes and well-being of an international population of healthcare workers.
methodsThis was an online, cross-sectional survey of healthcare workers. The survey was disseminated internationally using social media, specialty society list-serves, and email augmented by snowball sampling to healthcare workers who provided direct care to patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. The survey was conducted between April 13 and May 1, 2020. The primary outcome was self-reported PPE use during aerosol-generating medical procedures. Other outcomes included PPE use during care for respiratory patients in general, PPE reuse, PPE decontamination, and healthcare worker impressions related to their work and the pandemic.
resultsA total of 2227 healthcare workers from 23 countries completed the survey. The N95 was the most common respirator among the 1451 respondents who performed aerosol-generating procedures (n = 1050, 72.3%). Overall, 1783 (80.1%) of providers reported general reuse of PPE, which was similar across US regions but less common in Canada, Italy, and Spain. The most commonly reused item of PPE was the N95 respirator, with the majority of respondents who reused PPE reporting N95 reuse (n = 1157, 64.9%). Of the 1050 individuals who wore an N95 mask while performing an aerosol-generating medical procedure, 756 (72%) reported re-using an N95, and 344 (45.5%) reported reuse for >3 days. Qualitative results identified several common themes, including (1) lack of availability of PPE, (2) fear and anxiety as a result of inadequate PPE, (3) potential exposure to family members, and (4) concerns regarding workload and pay.
conclusionsThis international survey of healthcare workers found that N95 respirators were commonly used to care for patients with respiratory symptoms with and without aerosol-generating medical procedures. Healthcare workers reported an unprecedented need to reuse PPE that was designed for single-use, specifically the N95 respirator. The reuse of PPE increased the perceived risk for COVID-19 infection and harmed mental health.
Identifiers
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.