PPE-Based Strategies For COVID-19 Prevention Amongst Healthcare Workers

Abstract

When the novel coronavirus began to spread, there was a general lack of understanding of COVID-19, which makes healthcare workers face an extremely high risk of infection when treating patients. In the early stage of the outbreak, the global supply of PPE (personal protective equipment) was tight, and HCW (healthcare workers) generally suffered the problem of insufficient protective equipment. Therefore, it is necessary to provide more effective protection for HCW. This article studies and discusses the effectiveness and strategies of using PPE to prevent COVID-19 among HCW. This article uses CNKI and PubMed as search platforms. And it analyzes the literature on the use of PPE, the spread of COVID-19 and the prevention and control of hospital senses to understand the current research progress and existing problems. This study includes a total of 8 articles. The more parts of the body covered by PPE , the better the protection effect it provides. This is also accompanied by an increase in difficulty and comfort when wearing and taking off PPE. Strict adherence to officially standardized PPE wearing and removal procedures can effectively reduce the infection rate of HCWs in response to the COVID-19 virus, while overprotection of HCWs may prolong unloading time and potentially increase the risk of contamination. The findings revealed that proper wearing of masks like N95 significantly reduces the infection rate of SARS-CoV-2, while the combo of full-body PPE, respirator, and coat offers enhanced protection to HCWs, minimizing pollution risks.