Department of Internal Medicine, Mater Misericordiae Hospital, Dublin 7, Ireland.
School of Medicine, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland.
Ir J Med Sci. 2022 Feb;191(1):97-102. doi: 10.1007/s11845-020-02493-z. Epub 2021 Feb 8.
COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020. With the sudden surge in demand for personal protective equipment (PPE), significant concerns regarding the ongoing availability emerged. One solution proposed is re-sterilisation of respirator masks and this has been commenced in some parts of the world. On review of the literature, very little is documented regarding the knowledge of masks and the attitudes of healthcare workers towards using re-sterilised masks.
A comprehensive questionnaire was used to assess general knowledge and attitudes around facemasks and respirators.
There were 190 respondents. There were significant gaps in knowledge and understanding of when particular face masks should be worn. One-third had significant concerns about ongoing availability. One-third had concerns about the quality of the masks as the pandemic continued. Only 10% of respondents underwent formal face-fitting. Eighty percent of respondents stated they would wear a re-sterilised mask. A further 15% would use a re-sterilised mask but required certain reassurances. Five percent of our respondents would not use a re-sterilised mask under any circumstances.
Ensuring an adequate understanding of face masks is crucial among healthcare workers (HCWs) and this study highlights a need for further education. It also demonstrates a general acceptability among HCWs towards the use of re-sterilised face masks.
2020 年 3 月，COVID-19 被宣布为大流行。随着个人防护设备（PPE）需求的突然激增，人们对其持续供应产生了重大担忧。提出的解决方案之一是对呼吸器口罩进行再消毒，这在世界上的一些地方已经开始实施。在对文献进行回顾时，发现有关口罩知识和医护人员对使用再消毒口罩的态度的记录很少。
使用综合问卷评估对面罩和呼吸器的一般知识和态度。
共有 190 名受访者。在应该佩戴特定口罩的时间方面，知识和理解存在明显差距。三分之一的人对持续供应表示严重关注。随着大流行的继续，三分之一的人对口罩的质量表示担忧。只有 10%的受访者接受了正式的面部贴合测试。80%的受访者表示他们会佩戴经过再消毒的口罩。另有 15%的受访者会使用再消毒的口罩，但需要一定的保证。我们的 5%的受访者在任何情况下都不会使用再消毒的口罩。
确保医护人员（HCWs）充分了解口罩至关重要，本研究强调需要进一步教育。它还表明 HCWs 普遍接受使用再消毒的口罩。
