N95 Respirators - would appreciate learning about your experiences

HealthcareSafety · Oct 29, 2010

Our recent experience with H1N1 demonstrates that we still have work to do when it comes to preparing and equipping ourselves for outbreaks of airborne infectious diseases requiring respiratory protection for nurses and health care workers. Journal articles that have published so far about the H1N1 response describe confusion regarding the guidelines and requirements, problems obtaining respirators and related equipment, and a lack of time and people to implement the respirator programs.

I am a doctoral student at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ who has worked in hospitals for 19 years. I am conducting a survey research project on respirator use in health care facilities. I would very much appreciate learning about your experiences with respirators.

I have created a survey regarding respirators at a Survey Monkey website:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/UMDNJhealthcareworkerrespiratorsurvey

The survey should take no more than 15 minutes to complete.

This is an anonymous and voluntary survey. Your identity, the IP address of the computer you use to complete the survey will not be recorded. Your answers will be grouped with the responses of other individuals. Your participation would be an important contribution towards enhancing the safety of nurses.

I have been visiting hospitals and health care facilities to request the participation of nurses and health care workers. Many of the people I have spoken with so far have told me they would be interested in knowing what I find out. If anyone is interested in getting a copy of the results of my research, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you access the survey, my contact information will appear at the beginning and end of the survey.

In addition to H1N1, N95 disposable filtering respirators have been recommended by the CDC and required by the Occupational Safety and Health and Administration (OSHA) to protect healthcare workers against a number of other infectious diseases including tuberculosis (TB), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), pandemic and avian influenza. If during the next outbreak of a novel disease or bioterrorism event, there is any indication or risk that transmission may occur via the airborne route, it is likely that respirators will be again be recommended if only at least until we have enough evidence that they are not. If we don't learn from the H1N1 experience, we risk being right back where we started.

Thank you for reading my post and considering my request!