Frequent and unexpected deviations from personal protective equipment guidelines increase contamination risks

Diane Mulvey; Jeanmarie Mayer; Lindsay Visnovsky; Matthew Samore; Frank Drews

doi:10.1016/j.ajic.2019.03.013

Frequent and unexpected deviations from personal protective equipment guidelines increase contamination risks

Am J Infect Control. 2019 Sep;47(9):1146-1147. doi: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.03.013. Epub 2019 Apr 24.

Authors

Diane Mulvey¹, Jeanmarie Mayer¹, Lindsay Visnovsky¹, Matthew Samore¹, Frank Drews²

Affiliations

¹ Division of Epidemiology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT; IDEAS Center, Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Salt Lake City, UT.
² IDEAS Center, Veterans Affairs Healthcare System, Salt Lake City, UT; Department of Psychology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31027940
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2019.03.013

Abstract

Personal protective equipment (PPE) training aims to reinforce the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for donning and doffing; however, many health care and ancillary personnel use non-guideline methods to don and doff their PPE gowns and gloves. We found that hospital personnel commonly deviated from the guidelines, increasing the likelihood of self-contamination. Furthermore, securing the gown ties inappropriately was an especially common problem that consequently increased doffing missteps.

Keywords: Health care personnel; Healthcare-associated infections; Isolation gown; Training.

Publication types

Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Cross Infection / prevention & control*
Disease Transmission, Infectious / prevention & control*
Guideline Adherence / statistics & numerical data*
Hospitals
Humans
Infection Control / methods*
Occupational Exposure / prevention & control*
Personal Protective Equipment*