Shifting Personal Protective Equipment Usage Found Amongst Nurses

Abstract

Background: Personal protective equipment (PPE) has been around since the 14th century and the importance of it is unmeasurable. The COVID-19 pandemic left the world with a shortage of PPE mainly due to a resulting supply and demand problem. However, following peak COVID-19 pandemic PPE supplies began to normalize, yet hospital nurses’ focus on upholding proper PPE standards were markedly dwindling nationwide. Objective: The aim of this research study was to better understand the correlating factors playing a role in the noticeable change in hospital nurse attitudes regarding PPE usage. Methods: A mixed research design study was implemented over three weeks from January 2022 to February 2022 and included critical care registered nurses. A 27 open and closed-ended question survey was distributed via Survey Monkey to allow for qualitative and quantitative data collection. Data Analysis: A percent change was performed on quantitative data and a thematic analysis was conducted on qualitative data. Results: There was an 18.17% percent change increase in PPE supplies on the chosen critical care hospital units and consistent identifiable themes of fear, anxiety, and frustration in regards to PPE when working with COVID-19 patients. Conclusion: This survey did identify a reported shift in PPE usage amongst critical care nurses since peak COVID-19 pandemic. This shift could be due to many identifiable factors such as PPE accessibility, emotional resentments towards PPE supply, financial burden, PPE nursing education, and physical injuries from PPE wear.