The Infection Control Today® personal protective equipment page offers written and video content on the proper use and—during the time of COVID-19 surges—reuse of PPE, including masks, respirators, gloves, gowns, face shields, goggles, and more. What are the proper donning and doffing methods? How long can PPE be extended? How are these items decontaminated? What comprises proper fit testing? Our experts will tell you.
September 18th 2024
A recent study explores individual, organizational, and environmental factors influencing home care providers' adherence to facial protective equipment (FPE) to improve future pandemic preparedness.
Risk Compensation and Optimistic Bias: Why Healthcare Workers are Not Getting Vaccinated
June 18th 2012Each year, approximately 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans get infected with the influenza virus. With more than 200,000 hospitalizations each year for flu-related complications, it is a wonder that less than 50 percent of eligible citizens take preventive action by getting a flu shot (CDC, 2011b). Vaccination rates have been shown to vary greatly between age groups and demographics, but one particularly interesting cohort to examine is that of healthcare workers.
Respiratory Protection: Compliance, Research are Key Issues for the Future
June 12th 2012Ensuring healthcare worker compliance with the proper use of respiratory protection when it is warranted remains a challenge for infection preventionists and is a continued area of study by researchers in the public and private sectors. One such agency pursuing this knowledge is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the federal agency specifically dedicated to generating new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transferring that knowledge into practice.
Compliance Strategies Include Making It Easy for Healthcare Workers to Do the Right Thing
June 1st 2012Kristen Korte, RN, CIC, senior infection preventionist, and Mandeep Rai, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control, at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Ariz. share their thoughts about the challenges related to healthcare workers' compliance with evidence-based practices.
Uncovering the Mystery of Type IV Allergies
April 5th 2012Imagine a nurse, lets call her Jill, who faces multiple scrub-ins everyday as part of her operating room (OR) role. She struggles with a rash on her hands and wrists that just wont go away, causing both physical and emotional trauma. These recurring and often painful skin conditions which range from mild irritations to more serious reactions can persist, despite the care taken by nurses and hospitals. Add to that the toll in sick leaves and absenteeism, and the cost of this condition can be painful to both staff and administration. Despite the care and costs, hospitals have not solved the problem. But there is an answer!