CE Module: Health Care Workers’ Comfort Ratings for Elastomeric Half-Mask Respirators Versus N95 R Filtering Facepiece Respirators During the COVID-19 Pandemic

This issue of Workplace Health & Safety contains a Continuing Nursing Education Module for 1.0 contact hour of continuing nursing education credit which 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 July 2027; (3) A score of 80 % is achieved by the participant.

Upon completion of this lesson, the occupational health nurse will be able to:

• Discuss the differences between the Elastomeric Half-mask Respirators (EHMR) and N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFR).

• Enumerate the benefits of the EHMR.

• Apply the information provided by this study to practice.

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.

Questions

1. The primary respiratory protection used in medical settings and is NIOSH-approved is the N95 filtering facepiece respirator (N95 FFR)

2. b. FALSE.

The elastomeric half-mask respirator (EHMR) is preferred over the N95 because:

a. It is larger than the N95.

b. It is disposable.

c. It is loose fitting and still has the same assigned protection factor as the N95.

d. It can be repeatedly disinfected, cleaned and re-used.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate if the EHMR has the same protection factor as the N95

a. TRUE.

b. FALSE.

Eligibility for study participants includes:

a. At least 28 years of age or older.

b. Have never been fit-tested for an N95.

c. Jobs involve direct patient care or counseling.

d. Answered ‘maybe’ when asked if they wear a mask during patient care.

Recruitment of participants occurred in hospitals in Georgia and Texas and was based on:

a. Recruitment in Texas occurred in-person and face-to-face.

b. Participants who signed the consent form were instructed to schedule a 120-minute time slot for fit-testing.

c. At the Georgia site, participants were recruited from the trauma unit.

d. In Georgia, participants included nurses, certified nursing assistants, and patient care assistants.

Data collection in this study included:

a. Weekly surveys.

b. Weekly face-to-face interviews.

c. Pre- and post-survey at baseline and week 12 and 5 bi-weekly surveys during weeks 2 to 10.

d. Separate and different surveys for physicians.

Data analysis in this study included:

a. Descriptive statistics.

b. Chi-square tests.

c. T-tests.

d. All the above.

Qualitative findings in this study suggested that participants felt the N95 FFR was easier to use than the EHMR when quick tasks needed to be conducted.

a. TRUE.

b. FALSE.

Findings in this study indicated:

a. Better ratings for comfort level for the EHMR relative to the N95 FFR.

b. Better ratings for comfort level for the N95 FFR relative to the EHMR.

c. Better communication when wearing the EHMR.

d. EHMRs do not need to be pilot tested.

Reports from the qualitative part of the study on the use of the EHMR include:

a. Preference for the EHMR over the N95 FFR because of a ‘good secure fit’.

b. Preference for the EHMR over the N95 FFR because ‘it’s easy to test the positive/negative pressure’.

c. Preference for the EHMR over the N95 FFR because ‘the material felt better against the face’.

d. All the above.