Medical University Graz, Institute of Pathology, Christian Doppler Laboratory for Biospecimen Research and Biobanking Technologies, Graz, Austria.
Medical University Graz, Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Graz, Austria.
PLoS One. 2019 Jan 22;14(1):e0210775. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0210775. eCollection 2019.
Pandemics and re-emerging diseases put pressure on the health care system to prepare for patient care and sample logistics requiring enhanced personnel protective equipment (PPE) for health care workers. We generated quantifiable data on ergonomics of PPE applicable in a health care setting by defining error rates and physically limiting factors due to PPE-induced restrictions. Nineteen study volunteers tested randomly allocated head- or full body-ventilated PPE suits equipped with powered-air-purifying-respirators and performed four different tasks (two laboratory tutorials, a timed test of selective attention and a test investigating reaction time, mobility, speed and physical exercise) during 6 working hours at 22°C on one day and 4 working hours at 28°C on another day. Error rates and physical parameters (fluid loss, body temperature, heart rate) were determined and ergonomic-related parameters were assessed hourly using assessment sheets. Depending on the PPE system the most restrictive factors, which however had no negative impact on performance (speed and error rate), were: reduced dexterity due to multiple glove layers, impaired visibility by flexible face shields and back pain related to the respirator of the fully ventilated suit. Heat stress and liquid loss were perceived as restrictive at a working temperature of 28°C but not 22°C.
大流行和新出现的疾病给医疗保健系统带来压力，需要为医护人员准备需要增强型个人防护设备 (PPE) 的患者护理和样本物流。我们通过定义由于 PPE 限制引起的错误率和身体限制因素，生成了适用于医疗保健环境的 PPE 人体工程学的可量化数据。19 名研究志愿者随机测试了配备动力空气净化呼吸器的头部或全身通风 PPE 套装，并在一天内 22°C 下进行了 6 个工作小时，在另一天内 28°C 下进行了 4 个工作小时，完成了四项不同的任务（两项实验室教程、选择性注意的定时测试和一项测试，调查反应时间、移动性、速度和体育锻炼）。错误率和身体参数（液体流失、体温、心率）得到确定，使用评估表每小时评估与人体工程学相关的参数。根据 PPE 系统，最具限制性的因素是：由于多层手套导致的灵活性降低、灵活面罩导致的能见度降低以及全通风套装的呼吸器引起的背痛。在 28°C 的工作温度下，热应激和液体流失被认为是受限的，但在 22°C 时则不然。
