PPE effect on Hearing, Speech, Breathing and work performance in Health care workers

ABSTRACT

Using Personal protective equipment has become an integral part of work for all health care workers during the COVID19 pandemic however they do have an effect on their work performance. Aim(s)This study aimed to determine the effect of Personal Protective Equipment(PPE) on hearing, speech, and breathing on the work performance among the healthcare workers(HCWs) involved in treating COVID patients. Material(s) and Method(s) This is a descriptive cross-sectional survey conducted among the health care workers(HCWs) in a COVID designated hospital in Pondicherry, South India. A semi-structured questionnaire was constructed, and 384 eligible health care workers participated in the study. Their responses were collected in an excel sheet, and the data were analyzed. Result(s) Our survey showed that 79.7% of participants (n=306) had donned PPE for a total of 6 hours, and their work performance was significantly affected by the following factors, such as difficulty in hearing (p=0.053), difficulty in understanding speech (p=0.048), increased efforts in talking to patients and coworkers (p= 0.004) and increased measures of breathing(p=0.057). Conclusion(s) The use of personal protective equipment significantly impairs communication between coworkers and patients.PPE also increases the burden of breathing, and both these entities seem to influence the work performance of the HCWs. Hence we suggest that alternate communication strategies be taught and employed and formulate newer protocols with user-friendly PPEs to decrease the burden on breathing and for better communication for effective work performance. Copyright © 2022, Anka Publishers. All rights reserved.