Respirator Impact on Work Task Performance

Harber, Philip; Yun, David Y. Y.; Santiago, Silverio; Bansal, Shikha; Liu, Yihang

doi:10.1097/jom.0b013e3181febc75

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…(33,35) Current, topical studies have also investigated physiological respirator impact in persons with mild respiratory disease (35) and respirator impact on task performance. (36) Further studies will be necessary to better understand the limitations posed by respirators to the health care work force. Engaging HCWs in the design of new models may facilitate development of new respirators with improved comfort and tolerability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discomfort and Exertion Associated with Prolonged Wear of Respiratory Protection in a Health Care Setting

Shenal

Radonovich²,

Cheng

et al. 2012

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

142

134

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The nature of discomfort and level of exertion associated with wearing respiratory protection in the health care workplace are not well understood. Although a few studies have assessed these topics in a laboratory setting, little is known about the magnitude of discomfort and the level of exertion experienced by workers while they deliver health care to patients for prolonged periods. The purpose of this study was to determine the magnitude of discomfort and level of exertion experienced by health care workers while wearing respiratory protection for periods up to 8 hr when performing their typical occupational duties. This project was a multiple cross-over field trial of 27 health care workers, aged 24-65, performing their typical, hospital-based occupational duties. Each participant served as his/her own control and wore one of seven respirators or a medical mask for 8 hr (or as long as tolerable) with interposed doffing periods every 2 hr. Self-perceived discomfort and exertion were quantified before each doffing: self-perceived level of discomfort using a visual analog scale, and self-perceived level of exertion using a Borg scale. Overall, and as would be expected, discomfort increased over time with continual respirator use over an 8-hr period. Interestingly, exertion increased only marginally over the same time period. The relatively low level of exertion associated with eight respiratory protective devices, including models commonly used in the U.S. health care workplace, is not likely to substantially influence workers' tolerability or occupational productivity. However, the magnitude of discomfort does appear to increase significantly over time with prolonged wear. These results suggest that respirator-related discomfort, but not exertion, negatively influences respirator tolerance over prolonged periods. Discomfort may also interfere with the occupational duties of workers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discomfort and Exertion Associated with Prolonged Wear of Respiratory Protection in a Health Care Setting

Shenal

Radonovich²,

Cheng

et al. 2012

Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene

142

134

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…In group B after 12-min walking-test with mask there are a significant change in PR and RR but always within normal ranges Schwarz S et al 2021 [ 9 ] Survey German 20.353 respondents (parents, teachers, physicians) at survey of side effects of FMs worn by children and adolescents (Age: 0–17) 67.7% of parents reported their children had side effects: headache, concentration difficulties, sleepiness, fatigue, skin worsening, nosebleed, anxiety disorders, rejection or anxiety of school, increased sweating, injuries behind ears, cracked lips, vision disorders and nightmares. Age 7–12 group, 60,4% had greater irritability, 49,3% were unhappy, 44% refused school, 25,3% developed new fears Chronic lung diseases 7 Schönhofer B et al 1995 [ 13 ] Case control study German 29 cases vs 23 controls Pimax (cmH2O), P0,1 (cmH2O), P0,1/Pimax (cmH2O) Cases: after 2 h with mask increased PaCO2, P0,1, P0,1/Pimax, HCO 3 and reduced Pimax Bansal S et al 2010 [ 11 ] Case control study; dual cartridge half face mask vs N95 English 73 cases with mild respiratory disease vs 24 healthy controls; minute ventilation/high, inspiratory time, duty circle, heart rate, tidal volume / high, respiratory rate, expiratory time, time to reach, peak inspiratory/expiratory flow, mead inspiratory flow, peak inspiratory/expiratory flow Respirator type affects physiologic measures; respiratory timing parameters are more affected that ventilator volumes; asthma has greater respirator-disease interaction than COPD and rhynopathy Harber P et al 2010 [ 12 ] Case control study; dual cartridge half face mask vs N95 English 77 cases with mild respiratory disease vs 27 healthy controls; subjective response to respirator during tasks in a simulated work environment. Subjective response to respirator for multiple domains includes 12 specific symptoms and assessment of respirator- related duration decrement More adverse subjective responses with half face mask than N95, especially in women.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient safety implications of wearing a face mask for prevention in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and consensus recommendations

Balestracci¹,

Regina²,

Sessa³

et al. 2022

Intern Emerg Med

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In the past, the use of face masks in western countries was essentially limited to occupational health. Now, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, mask-wearing has been recommended as a public health intervention. As potential side effects and some contraindications are emerging, we reviewed the literature to assess the impact of them in daily life on patient safety and to provide appropriate guidelines and recommendations. We performed a systematic review of studies investigating physiological impact, safety, and risk of masks in predefined categories of patients, which have been published in peer-reviewed journals with no time and language restrictions. Given the heterogeneity of studies, results were analyzed thematically. We used PRISMA guidelines to report our findings. Wearing a N95 respirator is more associated with worse side effects than wearing a surgical mask with the following complications: breathing difficulties (reduced FiO 2 , SpO 2 , PaO 2 increased ETCO 2 , PaCO 2 ), psychiatric symptoms (panic attacks, anxiety) and skin reactions. These complications are related to the duration of use and/or disease severity. Difficulties in communication is another issue to be considered especially with young children, older person and people with hearing impairments. Even if benefits of wearing face masks exceed the discomfort, it is recommended to take an “air break” after 1–2 h consecutively of mask-wearing. However, well-designed prospective studies are needed. The COVID-19 pandemic could represent a unique opportunity for collecting large amount of real-world data. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11739-022-03083-w.

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Respiratory and facial protection: a critical review of recent literature

Bunyan

Ritchie

Jenkins

et al. 2013

Journal of Hospital Infection

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Infectious micro-organisms may be transmitted by a variety of routes. This is dependent on the particular pathogen and includes bloodborne, droplet, airborne, and contact transmission. Some micro-organisms are spread by more than one route. Respiratory and facial protection is required for those organisms which are usually transmitted via the droplet and/or airborne routes or when airborne particles have been created during 'aerosol-generating procedures'. This article presents a critical review of the recently published literature in this area that was undertaken by Health Protection Scotland and the Healthcare Infection Society and which informed the development of guidance on the use of respiratory and facial protection equipment by healthcare workers.

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Respirator Impact on Work Task Performance

Abstract: Productivity impact can be measured effectively and should be considered as part of respirator design testing and when selecting the optimal respirator for a worker.

Cited by 3 publications

References 39 publications

Discomfort and Exertion Associated with Prolonged Wear of Respiratory Protection in a Health Care Setting

Discomfort and Exertion Associated with Prolonged Wear of Respiratory Protection in a Health Care Setting

Patient safety implications of wearing a face mask for prevention in the era of COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review and consensus recommendations

Respiratory and facial protection: a critical review of recent literature

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