Abstract
This issue of Workplace Health & Safety contains a Continuing Nursing Education Module for 1.0 contact hour of continuing nursing education credit will be awarded by AAOHN upon successful completion of the posttest and evaluation.
A certificate will be awarded when the following requirements are met by the participant: (1) Participant logs on to the AAOHN LMS website at www.aaohn.org/education/online-learning-center and enrolls in the course ($10 members; $15 non-members); (2) The completed posttest and course evaluation are entered online at http://www.aaohn.org by December 2022; (3) A score of 75% (6 correct answers) is achieved by the participant.
Upon completion of this lesson, the occupational health nurse will be able to:
Discuss the perceptions of health care workers toward cleanliness of reusable respiratory devices and frequency of cleaning and disinfection under routine use.
Identify the differences among disposable N95, elastomeric half-face piece, and powered air-purifying respirators.
The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. is an Approved Provider of continuing nursing education by the American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc., an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The American Association of Occupational Health Nurses, Inc. is additionally approved as a CNE provider by the California Board of Registered Nursing (#CEP9283).
Contact hours received for successful completion of the posttest and evaluation may be used for relicensure, certification, and re-certification.
Can replace N95 masks Are easily sterilized Are preferred by nurses Have specific cleaning and disinfecting requirements
How good it looks on the wearer Respirator comfort Color of the respirator How long it needs sterilization
To evaluate which respiratory device healthcare workers prefer To determine how often healthcare workers want to clean their respirator device To determine the perceptions of healthcare workers towards cleanliness of the reusable device and quantify the reported frequency of cleaning and disinfection under routine use. To determine which respirator is the most beneficial to health care workers
Never used a respirator At least 21 years of age Could read English Worked for the current employer for at least 6 months
Hospital’s elastomeric half-piece respirators (EHFRs) respiratory protection programs (RPPs) structure Behaviors required for optimal cleaning and disinfection of respirators Nurses’ dislike of brand of respirator Nurses’ level of education
Small number of participants Data based on self-report Lack of reliable data Inexperienced researchers
Reusable elastomeric respirators are better than N95 masks The exposure of vulnerabilities in hospital respiratory protection program (RPP) readiness Bleach should be used to clean all respirators No need for fit testing with an elastomeric respirator
Compliance with usage of respirators was increased by frequent cleaning and disinfecting Compliance was increased if respirators were kept in a storage room Reusable elastomeric respirators can effectively serve as a solution to N95 filtering face-piece The only safe respirator device to be used in a pandemic is N95 masks