Examining the Impact of Elastomeric Half Mask Respirator Knowledge and User Barriers on Safety Climate Perceptions in Health Care Settings

Abstract

Background: Availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and its effective use may influence safety climate perceptions among health care personnel (HCP). It is unclear how health care organizations can leverage the effective use of respiratory protection to engage in continuous improvement of their safety climate, which can inform opportunities for employee education and engagement. Methods: After using an elastomeric half mask respirator (EHMR) as their primary form of respiratory protection for several months, 1,080 HCP provided feedback in an electronic survey about respiratory protection training, confidence in EHMR use, barriers during use, and perceived safety climate. Ordinal logistic regressions were used as nonlinear models to test relationships between these variables. Findings: We observed that an increase in user confidence ( p < .013), training content ( p < .001), training formats ( p < .001), and a decrease in EHMR barriers ( p < .001) were associated with a statistically significant increase in proactive safety climate. In the second model, an increase in user confidence ( p < .006) and training content ( p < .001), and a decrease in barriers ( p < .001), was associated with a statistically significant increase in compliant safety climate. Conclusions/Application to Practice: HCP EHMR confidence was positively associated with safety climate perceptions, underscoring the value of competency building by respiratory protection leaders prior to implementation. Because fewer barriers experienced while using an EHMR were associated with a more positive perception of safety climate, it is important to first communicate with end users about potential barriers and, second, to continue research with end users and manufacturers to improve the design of EHMRs moving forward.

Elastomeric half‐mask respirator disinfection practices among healthcare personnel

“…A previous study by the same authors found the need to develop and maintain RPPs, among other initiatives, to not only positively influence safety climate perceptions, but also support participation in consistent PPE practices among HCP. 49 Specifically, management oversight and organizational support and dissemination of the RPP has been positively correlated with health employees' perceptions regarding how their employer prioritizes health and safety. 50 Further, a deployment of EHMRs within an ambulatory setting during the COVID-19 pandemic suggested the importance of updating and having an RPP in place before the rollout of new EHMRs to support employee adherence to required PPE use and maintenance.…”

Examining the Roles of Training, Fit Testing, and Safety Climate on User Confidence in Respiratory Protection: A Case Example with Reusable Respirators in Health Delivery Settings

“…Future research should explore specific training and communication practices that have been successfully deployed by organizational leadership to support aspects of a positive safety climate. For example, previous research has shown the value of fostering a respirator champion program to en-courage the use of EHMRs through peer-to-peer support and interaction [2,44]. It is likely that these holistic approaches to respirator management-that foster a positive culture around respirator use-will be critical as new types of respirators enter the market.…”