The sourcing and use of high physical resemblance personal protective equipment to train healthcare workers, improve confidence and conserve medical-grade equipment

S Bumpstead; Z J Lim; L Kuhn; D Flynn; C-L Bakos; E Potter; D Egerton-Warburton

doi:10.1016/j.jhin.2021.04.003

The sourcing and use of high physical resemblance personal protective equipment to train healthcare workers, improve confidence and conserve medical-grade equipment

J Hosp Infect. 2021 Jun:112:104-107. doi: 10.1016/j.jhin.2021.04.003. Epub 2021 Apr 14.

Authors

S Bumpstead¹, Z J Lim², L Kuhn³, D Flynn⁴, C-L Bakos⁵, E Potter⁴, D Egerton-Warburton⁶

Affiliations

¹ Monash Medical Centre Clayton, Monash Health, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Monash Emergency Research Collaborative, Monash Health, Clayton, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: suzanne.bumpstead@monashhealth.org.
² Department of Anaesthesia, Austin Hospital, Heidelberg, Victoria, Australia.
³ Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Monash Emergency Research Collaborative, Monash Health, Clayton, Victoria, Australia.
⁴ Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Monash University, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia.
⁵ MCI Australia Ltd, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
⁶ School of Clinical Sciences at Monash Health, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Emergency Medicine Research, Monash Medical Centre, Clayton, Victoria, Australia; Design Health Collab, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture, Monash University, Caulfield, Victoria, Australia; Monash Centre for Health Research and Implementation, Monash Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University and Monash Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

PMID: 33864893
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhin.2021.04.003

Abstract

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is essential for healthcare worker (HCW) safety. Conservation of PPE for clinical use during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced its availability for training, necessitating an innovative approach to sourcing high physical resemblance PPE (HPR-PPE). We present a case study of crowd-sourcing of HPR-PPE to train HCWs. Survey results indicated that HPR-PPE enabled high-fidelity practise of PPE application and removal, aided procedure recall, improved user confidence and was sufficiently similar to medical-grade PPE. HPR-PPE provided a novel and cost-effective alternative. We also demonstrated that medical-grade PPE can be sourced from non-medical institutions and businesses during a pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare worker; Infection transmission; Occupational safety; Personal protective equipment (PPE); Simulation training.

MeSH terms

COVID-19 / prevention & control*
Case-Control Studies
Crowdsourcing
Durable Medical Equipment
Health Personnel / education*
Humans
Infection Control / instrumentation
Infection Control / methods*
Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional / prevention & control*
Personal Protective Equipment / supply & distribution*
Qualitative Research
Respiratory Protective Devices
Simulation Training