Personal protective equipment preparedness in intensive care units during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: An Asia-Pacific follow-up survey

Abstract

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Risk perception and emotional wellbeing in healthcare workers involved in rapid response calls during the COVID-19 pandemic: A substudy of a cross-sectional survey

“…A follow-up survey 6 months later by the same authors reported that although PPE-preparedness improved between the two survey periods, particularly in PPE use, PPE inventory, and HCW perceptions of safety, there continued to be low uptake of HCW training and implementation of other low-cost safety measures. 16 Furthermore, awareness of PPE breach management policies was also identified as suboptimal. 16 HCWs are amongst the highest-risk group for acquiring COVID-19 17,18 and seven times more likely than any other worker to develop a severe infection.…”

“…16 Furthermore, awareness of PPE breach management policies was also identified as suboptimal. 16 HCWs are amongst the highest-risk group for acquiring COVID-19 17,18 and seven times more likely than any other worker to develop a severe infection. 19 Hence there is a growing focus on protecting HCWs around the world through providing appropriate PPE and training, addressing fatigue, and preventing psychosocial consequences.…”

“…20,21 Not surprisingly, emotional stress, mental fatigue, and physical exhaustion have all been reported among frontline HCWs affected by COVID-19 pandemic in many parts of the world. [14][15][16][22][23][24][25][26][27] It is unclear if being female has influenced the higher reported levels of anxiety in our study. Women HCWs likely continue to be primary care-providers in their homes in addition to their healthcare responsibilities, which could have impacted their mental health differently and contributed to higher reported anxiety levels.…”

“…(1) With a rapidly evolving pandemic with a novel virus, changes to infection-control policies are inevitable as the knowledge of the spread, infectivity and virulence of the virus rapidly improves over time. Hence better communication is vital and must accompany updated policies to explain the reasons for change; (2) it is essential to have regular training in key areas such as PPE donning and doffing, airway practices and waste disposal 16 ; (3) it is essential to maintain adequate PPE stocks and other essential inventory 16 ; and (4) strengthening the psychological skills of HCWs and support systems. 29 Further research needs to focus on evaluating HCW with and without exposure to SARS CoV-2 to evaluate their course of perceived anxiety.…”

Infection prevention and control preparedness among public hospitals and COVID-19 temporary treatment and monitoring facilities in the Philippines

“…Proper segregation, storage, collection, and transport of waste materials in health care facilities catering to infected or suspected patients is critical to ensuring the safety of waste workers and reducing the chance of COVID-19 spreading in the community (16)(17). The amount and type of medical waste people in health care settings are exposed to underscore the importance of strictly observing other IPC domains and measures and regularly assessing for their compliance such as the availability of well-defined IPC policies (18), designation of zones (19), appropriate procedure and knowledge in the use of PPEs (20), and well-articulated directional movements of patients and waste materials. We echo the importance of empowering not only health care workers (21) but also engaging the community (22) in practicing IPC guidelines by strengthening individual, organisational, and community-level facilitators and addressing barriers that potentially discourage its sustained implementation.…”