title: Prevalence of Respiratory Protective Devices in U.S. Health Care Facilities: Implications for Emergency Preparedness.
abstract: An online questionnaire was developed to explore respiratory protective device (RPD) prevalence in U.S. health care facilities. The survey was distributed to professional nursing society members in 2014 and again in 2015 receiving 322 and 232 participant responses, respectively. The purpose of this study was to explore if the emergency preparedness climate associated with Ebola virus disease changed the landscape of RPD use and awareness. Comparing response percentages from the two sampling time frames using bivariate analysis, no significant changes were found in types of RPDs used in health care settings. N95 filtering facepiece respirators continue to be the most prevalent RPD used in health care facilities, but powered air-purifying respirators are also popular, with regional use highest in the West and Midwest. Understanding RPD use prevalence could ensure that health care workers receive appropriate device trainings as well as improve supply matching for emergency RPD stockpiling.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fellowship kwizner@cdc.gov.
authors.forename: Kerri
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wizner
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Fellowship.
authors.forename: Lindsay
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Stradtman
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
authors.forename: Debra
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Shaffer
mesh_terms: D002959:Civil Defense; D006282:Health Personnel; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000517:prevention & control; D016272:Occupational Health; D058873:Pandemics / Q000517:prevention & control; D012134:Respiratory Protective Devices / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: emergency response; health care workers; pandemic preparedness; personal protective equipment (PPE); prevalence survey; respiratory protective devices