Personal Protective Equipment

Each year, approximately 5 percent to 20 percent of Americans get infected with the influenza virus. With more than 200,000 hospitalizations each year for flu-related complications, it is a wonder that less than 50 percent of eligible citizens take preventive action by getting a flu shot (CDC, 2011b). Vaccination rates have been shown to vary greatly between age groups and demographics, but one particularly interesting cohort to examine is that of healthcare workers.

Ensuring healthcare worker compliance with the proper use of respiratory protection when it is warranted remains a challenge for infection preventionists and is a continued area of study by researchers in the public and private sectors. One such agency pursuing this knowledge is the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the federal agency specifically dedicated to generating new knowledge in the field of occupational safety and health and to transferring that knowledge into practice.

Kristen Korte, RN, CIC, senior infection preventionist, and Mandeep Rai, MD, medical director of infection prevention and control, at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center in Glendale, Ariz. share their thoughts about the challenges related to healthcare workers' compliance with evidence-based practices.