Arkansas Children's Hospital, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Arkansas Children's Research Institute, Little Rock, Arkansas. Ms Willis is Section Editor of Respiratory Care.
Respir Care. 2021 Jul;66(7):1096-1104. doi: 10.4187/respcare.08944. Epub 2021 May 25.
Face coverings are recommended to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Guidelines regarding face mask use have evolved from the time when COVID-19 first emerged. Practices for face mask use in the United States vary widely.
Clinical and nonclinical staff from a pediatric health care system were invited to complete a survey regarding perceptions and practices of face mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Overall results were analyzed, and subgroup analyses were conducted to compare clinical and nonclinical staff, and clinical staff who do and do not provide direct patient care.
The response rate was approximately 24% (1,128 of 4,698). Most respondents were clinical staff who provide patient care. A surgical/procedure mask was most often worn for patient care by 72% ( < .001). Most respondents (70%) reported wearing a cloth mask when not in the hospital ( < .001). Cloth masks were worn for a mean of 3.4 ± 3.9 d before washing. Frequent hand hygiene before putting on the mask, before removing, and after removing was reported as 56%, 44%, and 62%, respectively. The most common challenges reported were glasses fogging (69%), skin irritations (45%), and headaches (31%). Qualitative data revealed themes of feeling unsafe, beliefs and practices about COVID-19 and masks, mandates and enforcement of wearing masks, availability of personal protective equipment, and care delivery challenges.
Practices and perceptions of face masks varied among staff in a pediatric health care system. Some staff did not feel that masks are effective in preventing virus spread, and others did not feel safe in performing job duties. Hand hygiene for mask handling was not practiced consistently. A large number of staff reported having experienced challenges or health issues when wearing a mask. Clinical staff who provide direct patient care reported more issues than both nonclinical and clinical staff who do not provide care.
口罩被推荐用于帮助减轻 COVID-19 的传播。自 COVID-19 首次出现以来，有关口罩使用的指南已经发生了变化。美国的口罩使用实践差异很大。
我们邀请了来自儿科医疗保健系统的临床和非临床工作人员完成一项关于 COVID-19 大流行期间戴口罩的看法和实践的调查。分析了总体结果，并进行了亚组分析，以比较临床和非临床工作人员，以及提供和不提供直接患者护理的临床工作人员。
回复率约为 24%（4698 名中的 1128 名）。大多数受访者是提供患者护理的临床工作人员。72%的人（<0.001）最常因患者护理而佩戴手术/程序口罩。大多数受访者（70%）报告说不在医院时戴布口罩（<0.001）。布口罩在洗涤前平均佩戴 3.4±3.9 天。报告在戴口罩前、摘口罩前和摘口罩后频繁进行手部卫生的比例分别为 56%、44%和 62%。报告的最常见挑战是眼镜起雾（69%）、皮肤刺激（45%）和头痛（31%）。定性数据揭示了感到不安全、对 COVID-19 和口罩的信念和实践、戴口罩的授权和执行、个人防护设备的可用性以及护理服务提供方面的挑战等主题。
在儿科医疗保健系统中，工作人员对面罩的使用和看法存在差异。一些工作人员认为口罩不能有效防止病毒传播，而另一些工作人员在执行工作职责时感到不安全。口罩处理的手部卫生没有得到一致的实践。大量工作人员报告在戴口罩时遇到挑战或出现健康问题。与不提供护理的非临床和临床工作人员相比，提供直接患者护理的临床工作人员报告的问题更多。
