Practical Solutions for Healthcare Worker Protection During the COVID-19 Pandemic Response in the Ambulatory, Emergency, and Inpatient Settings

  • Anthony Kraus
  • , Oluwafunbi Awoniyi
  • , Yousef Almalki
  • , Adham Sameer A. Bardeesi
  • , Bridget Edwards
  • , Fahad Alhajjaj
  • , Bader Alossaimi
  • , Todd Benham
  • , Michalengelo Bortolin
  • , Srihari Cattamanchi
  • , Michael Court
  • , John Groves
  • , Anthony Hernandez
  • , Fadi Issa
  • , Gavin MacGregor-Skinner
  • , Philip Manners
  • , Michael Molloy
  • , Douglas Romney
  • , Amalia Voskanyan
  • , Debra Weiner
  • Madeline Yogman, Alexander Hart, Gregory Ciottone

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective:Protecting healthcare workers is an essential component of a successful response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The resource intensive nature of infectious disease protection, budgetary constraints, and global shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) make this a daunting task. Practical, easily implemented strategies for healthcare workers (HCW) protection are needed.Methods:We cross-reference the "Systems, Space, Staff, and Stuff"paradigm from disaster management and the "Hierarchy of Controls"approach to infection prevention from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to generate a narrative overview of worker protection strategies relevant to COVID-19.Results:Alternative types of PPE, management of hazards, and reorganizing how people work can optimize HCWs protection.Conclusions:A comprehensive PPE strategy can utilize the "systems, space, staff, stuff"paradigm of disaster management to identify new or underutilized solutions to HCWs protection.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)E616-E624
JournalJournal of occupational and environmental medicine
Volume62
Issue number11
DOIs
StatePublished - Nov 1 2020

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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