Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Taylor A. M. Wolffe, Anna Clinton, Andrew Robinson, Louis Turrell, Anna A. Stec
Summary: This study investigated the personal protective equipment (PPE) of UK firefighters and found that most firefighters remove contaminated gear inside the fire truck. The frequency of cleaning the gear is related to seniority, length of service, and fire attendance frequency. In addition, storage of the gear poses a potential risk of cross-contamination.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Primary Health Care
Brian Kerley, Lana Tan, Denise Marshall, Cindy O'Neill, Anne Bialachowski, Jose Pereira
Summary: The study developed a protocol for donning and doffing PPE in home settings, which was refined through webinars and expert consultations, providing easy-to-use checklists and addressing gaps in current COVID-19 guidelines.
ANNALS OF FAMILY MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luis Alberto Breda Mascarenhas, Bruna Aparecida Souza Machado, Leticia de Alencar Pereira Rodrigues, Katharine Valeria Saraiva Hodel, Alex Alisson Bandeira Santos, Paulo Roberto Freitas Neves, Leone Peter Correia da Silva Andrade, Milena Botelho Soares, Jailson Bittencourt de Andrade, Roberto Badaro
Summary: The research evaluated a spray disinfection technology for instant decontamination of PPE, showing that the technology can effectively reduce the number of different microorganisms.
Article
Nursing
Hyewon Lee, Ihn Sook Jeong
Summary: This study developed and verified a new program for nurses in military hospitals to improve the accuracy and self-efficacy of donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). The program was found to significantly increase accuracy, self-efficacy, and time in the experimental group compared to the control group.
NURSING & HEALTH SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Emily E. Chasco, Jaqueline Pereira da Silva, Kimberly Dukes, Jure Baloh, Melissa Ward, Hugh P. Salehi, Heather Schacht Reisinger, Priyadarshini R. Pennathur, Loreen Herwaldt
Summary: Healthcare personnel's strategies for doffing unfamiliar personal protective equipment (PPE) are influenced by their familiarity with PPE items and designs, routine practices, training, and design cues. However, nonintuitive design and lack of training can be barriers to appropriate doffing of unfamiliar PPE.
INFECTION CONTROL AND HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Hui-Lan Zhang, Sha Yang, Hong-Xia Luo, Jian-Ping You
Summary: The objective of this study was to identify operational errors and key sites of self-contamination during the process of donning and doffing personal protective equipment (PPE). The study involved 56 healthcare workers and recorded errors and contamination sites using UV-fluorescent labeling and video surveillance. The results identified several common errors, such as choosing a difficult-to-handle coverall, neglecting to inspect the seal of N95 respirator or gloves, and incomplete zipper closure. Key sites of contamination during doffing included the left hand and wrist, left lower leg, chest, and left abdomen. These findings provide important evidence for training in PPE use and optimizing standardized protocols to reduce contamination.
DISASTER MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS
(2023)
Article
Health Policy & Services
Tomer Lamhoot, Noa Ben Shoshan, Hagit Eisenberg, Gilad Fainberg, Mansour Mhiliya, Neta Cohen, Orly Bisker-Kassif, Orly Barak, Carolyn Weiniger, Tali Capua
Summary: The study compared the adherence to PPE protocols in the Emergency Department vs designated COVID-19 wards. Results showed that there was lower adherence to donning and doffing protocols in the Emergency Department compared to the COVID-19 wards. Factors such as time management, stress, and lack of personnel could explain the deviations from protocol. Further studies are needed to assess the correlation between protocol deviations and morbidity.
ISRAEL JOURNAL OF HEALTH POLICY RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Reny Segal, William Pierre Bradley, Daryl Lindsay Williams, Keat Lee, Roni Benjamin Krieser, Paul Mario Mezzavia, Rommie Correa de Araujo Nunes, Irene Ng
Summary: This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that a human-AI machine system may serve as a substitute or enhancement to monitor the donning and doffing process of personal protective equipment. However, further studies are required to examine its clinical efficacy with a diverse range of individuals.
INFECTION CONTROL AND HOSPITAL EPIDEMIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
D. Doos, P. Barach, N. J. Alves, L. Falvo, A. Bona, M. Moore, D. D. Cooper, R. Lefort, R. Ahmed
Summary: The practice of reusing PPE poses high levels of risk for accidental contamination by healthcare workers. Storing a reused N95 respirator on a tabletop was found to be a safer alternative than using a paper bag for storage.
JOURNAL OF HOSPITAL INFECTION
(2022)
Article
Cardiac & Cardiovascular Systems
Justin Haloot, Omar Sheikh, Fatima Dollar, Heta Javeri, Hendre Jeannetta Fichardt, Gail Fernandes, Marlene Garcia, Anand Prasad
Summary: This study provides an overview of current PPE donning and doffing protocols specific to the catheterization laboratory, highlighting the common practices in institutions and emphasizing the potential contamination risk during doffing procedures. Further studies are needed to explore effective management strategies for PPE donning and doffing in healthcare settings.
FRONTIERS IN CARDIOVASCULAR MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Pathology
Johanna M. Brandner, Peter Boor, Lukas Borcherding, Carolin Edler, Sven Gerber, Axel Heinemann, Julia Hilsenbeck, Atsuko Kasajima, Larissa Lohner, Bruno Maerkl, Jessica Pablik, Ann Sophie Schroeder, Julia Slotta-Huspenina, Linna Sommer, Jan-Peter Sperhake, Saskia von Stillfried, Sebastian Dintner
Summary: At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were concerns about the safety of autopsies on those who died of the disease. However, autopsies are now recognized as important for understanding COVID-19. A study found that 82% of personal protective equipment (PPE) samples taken from autopsy staff were contaminated with viral RNA, and 27% of the samples even contained infectious virus, posing a potential risk of infection to the staff.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Marco-Felipe King, Amanda M. Wilson, Mark H. Weir, Martin Lopez-Garcia, Jessica Proctor, Waseem Hiwar, Amirul Khan, Louise A. Fletcher, P. Andrew Sleigh, Ian Clifton, Stephanie J. Dancer, Mark Wilcox, Kelly A. Reynolds, Catherine J. Noakes
Summary: Self-contamination during doffing of PPE is a concern for healthcare workers, especially when caring for COVID-19 patients. Factors such as improper glove removal and surface contacts play a critical role in determining the risk of exposure. Various factors such as patient numbers, COVID-19 case proportion, shift length, and probability of touching contaminated PPE can influence the exposure risk for healthcare workers.
Review
Gastroenterology & Hepatology
Leanne P. M. van Leeuwen, Wesley de Jong, Laura Doornekamp, Eric C. M. van Gorp, Pieter J. Wismans, Marco Goeijenbier
Summary: Certain exotic viruses can cause clinical diseases with liver involvement. These viruses have various transmission routes and clinical presentations, and they may cause severe liver damage. Timely detection of these exotic hepatitis viruses is crucial.
JOURNAL OF HEPATOLOGY
(2022)
Review
Polymer Science
Alireza Saidi, Chantal Gauvin, Safa Ladhari, Phuong Nguyen-Tri
Summary: Smart textile technologies can help address thermal stress issues in workplaces, enhancing wearer comfort and safety to reduce the risk of accidents. By using smart protective equipment, performance and efficiency of workers can be improved.
Review
Chemistry, Physical
Dhanya Venkataraman, Elnaz Shabani, Jay H. Park
Summary: This article critically examines the current state of nonwoven PPE fabrics, discussing the manufacturing of fibers and their bonding methods, as well as the integration of each fabric layer into textiles and their use as PPE. It also addresses the challenges of single-use nonwoven PPEs and explores emerging solutions to address sustainability issues with material and processing innovations.
Article
Construction & Building Technology
Jennifer Therkorn, David Drewry, Thomas Pilholski, Kathryn Shaw-Saliba, Gregory Bova, Lisa L. Maragakis, Brian Garibaldi, Lauren Sauer
Article
Medical Informatics
Samantha Pitts, Noah Barasch, Andrew T. Maslen, Bridgette A. Thomas, Leonard P. Dorissaint, Krista G. Decker, Sadaf Kazi, Yushi Yang, Allen R. Chen
APPLIED CLINICAL INFORMATICS
(2019)
Article
Immunology
Jennifer Therkorn, David Drewry, Jennifer Andonian, Lauren Benishek, Carrie Billman, Ellen R. Forsyth, Brian T. Garibaldi, Elaine Nowakowski, Kaitlin Rainwater-Lovett, Lauren Sauer, Maggie Schiffhauer, Lisa L. Maragakis
CLINICAL INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2019)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Sadaf Kazi, Salar Khaleghzadegan, Julie Dinh, Mark J. Shelhamer, Adam Sapirstein, Lee A. Goeddel, Nnenna O. Chime, Eduardo Salas, Michael A. Rosen
Summary: This article reviewed the use of physiological measurement in team settings, finding that researchers mainly focus on single physiological systems and have not fully explored the relationship between team physiological dynamics and team processes. It recommends further development of the team physiological dynamics research field to achieve the application of physiological measurement as a reliable indicator of team functioning.
Review
Medicine, General & Internal
Jennifer Therkorn, David G. Drewry, Olivia Tiburzi, Mekbib Astatke, Charles Young, Kaitlin Rainwater-Lovett
Article
Biophysics
K. Ott, D. Drewry, M. Luongo, J. Andrist, R. Armiger, J. Titus, C. Demetropoulos
JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICAL ENGINEERING-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME
(2020)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Kyle A. Ott, Constantine K. Demetropoulos, Mary E. Luongo, Jack M. Titus, Andrew C. Merkle, David G. Drewry
Summary: The study focuses on the spinal response of seated occupants to under-body blast loading, finding that the spine response is sensitive to changes in time-to-peak and the presence of personal protective equipment, but largely insensitive to changes in floor loading. Data from the experiments were used to develop response corridors for evaluating new test models used as human surrogates in high-rate vertical loading experiments.
ANNALS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Editorial Material
Engineering, Biomedical
Kathryn Loftis, Kate Sandora, David Drewry
ANNALS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Katharine T. Adams, Zoe Pruitt, Sadaf Kazi, Aaron Z. Hettinger, Jessica L. Howe, Allan Fong, Raj M. Ratwani
Summary: The study revealed that health IT systems are associated with a significant number of medication errors, with improper dose errors being the most common, particularly during medication ordering and review. The majority of medication error reports linked to health IT described usability issues, such as data entry, workflow support, and alerting, indicating the need for prioritizing these areas during usability and safety optimization efforts.
JOURNAL OF PATIENT SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Liming Voo, Kyle Ott, Thomas Metzger, Andrew Merkle, David Drewry
Summary: The study simulated UBB loading scenarios in a laboratory setting using postmortem human leg components, identifying severe calcaneus fractures as the most common injury, with secondary fractures to other bones. Foot contact forces were identified as a key factor in determining injury outcome.
ANNALS OF BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Adeel R. Iqbal, Codrin A. Parau, Sadaf Kazi, Katharine T. Adams, Long La, A. Zachary Hettinger, Raj M. Ratwani
Summary: This study identified several usability challenges related to eMAR through the analysis of patient safety event reports, which contribute to medication errors. To improve eMAR technology and patient safety, enhancements need to be made in eMAR user interface design, vendor usability testing, certification testing, consideration of work system factors, and eMAR-focused usability and safety testing by healthcare facilities.
JOINT COMMISSION JOURNAL ON QUALITY AND PATIENT SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Biophysics
Connor O. Pyles, Melissa Dunphy, Nicholas A. Vavalle, Michael F. Vignos, Quang T. Luong, Kyle Ott, David G. Drewry
Summary: This study developed and validated a multiscale model to investigate the loading and bone remodeling of the tibia. The findings suggest that high-intensity training may increase tibial strain and injury risk.
JOURNAL OF BIOMECHANICAL ENGINEERING-TRANSACTIONS OF THE ASME
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Teresa Taft, Elizabeth Anne Rudd, Iona Thraen, Sadaf Kazi, Zoe M. Pruitt, Christopher W. Bonk, Deanna-Nicole Busog, Ella Franklin, Aaron Z. Hettinger, Raj M. Ratwani, Charlene R. Weir
Summary: This study aims to identify persistent hazards and inefficiencies in inpatient medication administration, explore the cognitive attributes of medication administration tasks, and discuss strategies to reduce technology-related hazards. Interviews were conducted with 32 nurses, and qualitative analysis revealed persistent safety hazards and inefficiencies in medication administration. Despite the implementation of barcode medication administration and electronic medication administration record, errors may still persist in medication administration.
JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL INFORMATICS ASSOCIATION
(2023)
Article
Medical Informatics
Swaminathan Kandaswamy, Zoe Pruitt, Sadaf Kazi, Jenna Marquard, Saba Owens, Daniel J. Hoffman, Raj M. Ratwani, Aaron Z. Hettinger
Summary: Through interviews with doctors and nurses, it was found that the main reason for using free-text orders is the limitations of the current structured order entry design. This practice brings some risks, such as the increased likelihood of missing orders and increased workload on nurses. To encourage safe communication of medication information between clinicians, the structured order entry of EHR needs to be redesigned to support clinicians' cognitive and workflow needs that are currently being addressed via the use of free-text orders.
APPLIED CLINICAL INFORMATICS
(2021)