Impact of personal protective equipment attached powered air-purifying respirator on nursing-skill performance and psychosocial stress of intensive care unit COVID-19 nurses: A cross-sectional study.

Abstract

To investigate how personal protective equipment with an attached powered air-purifying respirator worn by intensive care unit nurses caring for COVID-19 patients in Korea impacts nursing-skill performance and psychosocial stress. A cross-sectional descriptive study was designed using purposive sampling. Online data collection was conducted from 3 March 2021-20 March 2021on 181 nurses who had worked for more than 1 month in COVID-19 critical care settings wearing personal protective equipment with a powered air-purifying respirator. A structured questionnaire was used to gather data on sociodemographic characteristics, attitude toward personal protective equipment, nursing-skill performance wearing personal protective equipment and psychosocial stress. Data was sourced from structured questionnaire responses. Nursing skill performance decreased to 63.4%, compared with normal performance. Subjects' perceptions and attitudes related to PPE scored 3.56 out of 5; 44.7% of subjects reported severe psychosocial stress, which was significantly affected by attitude toward personal protective equipment usage, nursing performance, experience caring for COVID-19 patients and length of personal protective equipment usage per shift. Greater negative attitude toward usage of personal protective equipment with a powered air-purifying respirator, results in lower nursing-skill performance and higher the psychosocial stress of nurses responding to COVID-19 outbreaks. High negative attitude toward PPE and low nursing-skill performance due to PPE with an attached PAPR results in significant and debilitating psychosocial stress in ICU nurses responding to COVID-19 outbreaks. To respond effectively to future infectious disease outbreaks and improve nursing performance, minimising the inconvenience and restrictions experienced by nurses wearing personal protective equipment is critical. We adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines to report. No patient or public contribution.