title: Anxiety during respirator use: comparison of two respirator types.
abstract: Anxiety may interfere with proper respirator use. This study directly compares the effect of two types of respirators--elastomeric half-face mask with dual-cartridges (HFM) and N95 filtering facepiece--on anxiety levels. Twelve volunteers with normal or mildly impaired respiratory conditions performed a series of simulated work tasks using the HFM and N95 on different days. The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) measured state anxiety (SA) before and during respirator use. STAI also measured trait anxiety (TA), a stable personal characteristic. The effect of the respirator was measured as the difference between SA pre-use and during use. Work with HFM was associated with an increase in SA (2.92 units, p < .01), whereas work with the N95 had no observed effect. Anxiety should be considered in the selection of the best respirator for a user. Impact on anxiety should be considered for respirator design and certification purposes, particularly if the device is to be widely used in workplace and community settings.
authors.affiliation: Occupational & Environmental Medicine Division, Department of Family Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
authors.forename: Samantha
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Harber
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yun
authors.forename: Siddharth
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bansal
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Silverio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Santiago
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001007:Anxiety / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices