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Health Care Workers’ Knowledge and Confidence in Personal Protective Equipment During the H1N1 Pandemic in Israel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 April 2014

Dagan Schwartz ,
Stav Shapira  and
Yaron Bar-Dayan
Dagan Schwartz
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, and PREPARED Center for Emergency Response Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva
Stav Shapira
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, and PREPARED Center for Emergency Response Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva Department of Management, Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Yaron Bar-Dayan*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, and PREPARED Center for Emergency Response Research, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Yaron Bar-Dayan, MD, MHA, Department of Emergency Medicine, Recanati School for Community Health Professions, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University, 16 Dolev St, Neve Savion, Or-Yehuda, Israel. (e-mail bardayan@netvision.net.il)
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Abstract

Objectives

Healthcare workers (HCW) are at increased risk of infection during pandemics. HCW personal protective equipment (PPE) use has been shown to lower infection rates among HCW and patients. However, low compliance and misuse are frequent. Since future outbreaks are unavoidable, this issue needs to be addressed.

Methods

A validated questionnaire was distributed to 617 HCWs (nurses and physicians) in 21 hospitals and 40 primary care clinics in Israel at the peak of the A/H1N1 pandemic.

Results

PPE confidence was higher among HCWs with higher tested and self-perceived knowledge. Confidence was also higher among nurses compared with physicians and among employees in hospitals compared with those in primary care clinics. Experience treating A/H1N1 patients was related to higher self-perceived knowledge and PPE confidence.

Conclusions

High levels of PPE knowledge were significantly correlated to HCWs’ confidence in PPE and may help increase PPE usage and reduce absenteeism. (Diaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-8)

Keywords

Pandemic InfluenzaKnowledgePersonal Protective EquipmentInfection ControlHealthcare Workers
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 8 , Issue 2 , April 2014 , pp. 150 - 157
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2014 

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