scholarly journals A Scalable Method of Applying Heat and Humidity for Decontamination of N95 Respirators During the COVID-19 Crisis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Loïc Anderegg ◽  
Cole Meisenhelder ◽  
Chiu Oan Ngooi ◽  
Lei Liao ◽  
Wang Xiao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Physical Functioning ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Filtration Efficiency ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Heating Method ◽  
Convection Oven ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Fit Testing ◽  
N95 Respirators

A lack of N95 respirators during the COVID-19 crisis has placed healthcare workers at risk. It is important for any N95 reuse strategy to determine the effects that proposed protocols would have on the physical functioning of the mask, as well as the practical aspects of implementation. Here we propose and implement a method of heating N95 respirators with moisture (85 °C, 60-85% humidity). We test both mask filtration efficiency and fit to validate this process. Our tests focus on the 3M 1860, 3M 1870, and 3M 8210 Plus N95 models. After five cycles of the heating procedure, all three respirators pass both quantitative fit testing (score of >100) and show no degradation of mask filtration efficiency. We also test the Chen Heng V9501 KN95 and HKYQ N95 finding no degradation of mask filtration efficiency, however even for unheated masks these scored <50 for every fit test. The heating method presented here is scalable from individual masks to over a thousand a day with a single industrial convection oven, making this method practical for local application inside health-care facilities.

scholarly journals Knowledge and practice of preparedness for infectious disease prevention and control among healthcare workers in secondary health care facilities in Osogbo, Nigeria

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 67-77
Author(s):  
WO Adebimpe ◽  
K Adabanija ◽  
DO Ibirongbe
Keyword(s):  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Disease Prevention ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Secondary Health Care ◽  
Knowledge And Practice ◽  
And Control

Background: Health care workers have critical roles to play in breaking the chain of infections in health care settings. The outbreak of Lassa Fever and Ebola Virus Disease in the West African sub-region in recent times is a rationale for a dire need for a strong epidemic preparedness system. The objective of the study is to assess the knowledge and practice of preparedness for infectious disease prevention and control among healthcare workers in secondary health care facilities in Osogbo, Nigeria.Methods: It was a Descriptive cross sectional study and 340 healthcare workers were selected using a multistage sampling technique. Research instrument used were semi structured pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed using the SPSS software version 17 .0.Results: The mean age of the respondents was 42 + 8.9 years. Out of the 340 healthcare workers studied 88.7% had good knowledge, while 72% and 67% had favorable attitude and good practice towards preparedness for infectious disease prevention and control respectively. Three hundred and eight (90.6%) said they washed their hands regularly before and after procedures. Only 37.4% said they still recap used needles and 31.8% said they have Infectious Disease Prevention and Control committee in their health facility. One hundred and ninety eight (58.2%) said they normally practice quarantine for eligible suspected cases and 77.4% perceived themselves to be at occupational risk of contracting infectious diseases. Having more than ten years of working experience was the major predictor of likelihood to have good knowledge, attitude and practice of preparedness on binary logistic regression analysis.Conclusion: The gap between knowledge and practice of preparedness for Infectious Disease and prevention Control calls for improved awareness and training among health workers, and their consistent monitoring towards behavioural change.

scholarly journals Effect of Dry Heat and Autoclave Decontamination Cycles on N95 FFRs

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cole Meisenhelder ◽  
Loïc Anderegg ◽  
Andrew Preecha ◽  
Chiu Oan Ngooi ◽  
Lei Liao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heat Treatment ◽  
Physical Functioning ◽  
Hospital Setting ◽  
Filtration Efficiency ◽  
Heating Method ◽  
Dry Heat ◽  
Fit Testing ◽  
Dry Heating ◽  
Potential Methods ◽  
Dry Heat Treatment

Current shortages of Filtering Facepiece Respirators (FFRs) have created a demand for effective methods for N95 decontamination and reuse. Before implementing any reuse strategy it is important to determine what effects the proposed method has on the physical functioning of the FFR. Here we investigate the effects of two potential methods for decontamination; dry heat at 95 °C, and autoclave treatments. We test both fit and filtration efficiency for each method. For the dry heat treatment we consider the 3M 1860, 3M 1870, and 3M8210+ models. After five cycles of the dry heating method, all three FFR models pass both fit and filtration tests, showing no degradation. For the autoclave tests we consider the 3M 1870, and the 3M 8210+. We find significant degradation of the FFRs following the 121 °C autoclave cycles. The molded mask tested (3M 8210+) failed fit testing after just 1 cycle in the autoclave. The pleated (3M 1870) mask passed fit testing for 5 cycles, but failed filtration testing. The 95 °C dry heat cycle is scalable to over a thousand masks per day in a hospital setting, and is above the temperature which has been shown to achieve the requisite 3 log kill of SARS-CoV-2[1], making it a promising method for N95 decontamination and reuse.

scholarly journals Primary health care facilities capacity gaps regarding diagnosis, treatment and knowledge of schistosomiasis among healthcare workers in North-western Tanzania: a call to strengthen the horizontal system

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Humphrey Deogratias Mazigo ◽  
Cecilia Uisso ◽  
Paul Kazyoba ◽  
Upendo J. Mwingira
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Primary Health Care System ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
North Western ◽  
Western Tanzania ◽  
Primary Health Care Facilities

Abstract Background The World Health Organization (WHO) calls for schistosomiasis endemic countries to integrate schistosomiasis control measures into the primary health care (PHC) services; however, in Tanzania, little is known about the capacity of the primary health care system to assume this role. The objective of this study was to assess the capacity of the primary health care system to diagnose and treat schistosomiasis in endemic regions of north-western Tanzania. Methods A total of 80 randomly-selected primary health care facilities located in the Uyui, Geita and Ukerewe districts of North-western Tanzania participated in the study. At each facility, the in-charge clinician, or any other healthcare worker appointed by the in-charge clinician, participated in the questionnaire survey. A quantitative questionnaire installed in a Data Tool Kit software was used to collect data. Healthcare workers working at various stations (laboratory, pharmacy, data clerks, outpatient section) were interviewed. The questionnaire collected information related to healthcare workers’ knowledge about urogenital and intestinal schistosomiasis symptoms, human and material resources, laboratory services, data capture, and anti-schistosomiasis treatment availability. Results A total of 80 healthcare workers were interviewed. Bloody stool (78.3 %) and haematuria (98.7 %) were the most common symptoms of intestinal and urogenital schistosomiasis mentioned by healthcare workers. Knowledge on the chronic symptoms such as hepatosplenomegaly and hematemesis for intestinal schistosomiasis, and oliguria and dysuria for urogenital schistosomiasis, were inadequate. Laboratory services were only available in 33.8 % (27/80) of the health facilities and direct wet preparation was the most common diagnostic technique used for both urine and stool samples. All healthcare workers knew that praziquantel was the drug of choice for the treatment of schistosomiasis and the drug was available in 91.3 % (73/80) of the health facilities. Conclusions The capacity of the primary health care facilities included in the current study is inadequate in terms of diagnosis, treatment, reporting and healthcare workers’ knowledge of schistosomiasis. Thus, the integration of schistosomiasis control activities into the primary healthcare system requires these gaps to be addressed.

scholarly journals COVID-19 health facility preparedness for protecting healthcare workers: Designing a tool for rapid self- assessment

2020 ◽  
Vol 72 ◽  
pp. 83-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saurav Basu
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Health Facility ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Rapid Assessment ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Care Facilities

Healthcare workers (HCWs) comprise an irreplaceable resource in combating the COVID-19 pandemic. However, thousands of HCWs have been infected with the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) globally, and hundreds have died in the line of duty. Increased stress and fear about personal and familial safety also erode the confidence of HCWs in adhering to the best-practices for COVID-19 patient care. A tool and checklist for rapid assessment of health-care facilities for their preparedness in prioritizing the protection of healthcare workers were developed based on a survey of multiple sources. A total of ten domains were identified that are pivotal toward enabling the protection of HCWs involved in the management of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients.

scholarly journals Assessment of Availability of Human Resource and Services for Newborn Care in Primary Health Care Facilities in Jos North Local Government Area of Plateau State, Nigeria

10.46912/57 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-122
Author(s):  
BO Toma ◽  
AOD Ofakunrin ◽  
UM Diala ◽  
P Kanhu ◽  
F Baba ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Newborn Care ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Health Extension Workers ◽  
Primary Health ◽  
Care Facilities ◽  
Immediate Newborn Care ◽  
Primary Health Care Facilities

Background: The majority of neonatal deaths occur in low and middle-income countries. Availability of qualified human resources along with maternal and child health services are essential to curb these deaths. The study objective was to determine the availability of human resources and services for newborn care in Primary Health Care facilities in Jos North Local Government Area. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in Primary Health Care facilities offering immediate newborn care. A stratified sampling technique was used to select 67 and 60 healthcare workers in 30 public and 30 private facilities respectively. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data and SPSS version 23 was used for data analysis. Results: The majority, 85(66.9%) of the healthcare workers were Community Health Extension Workers. There were 16(12.6%) midwives and 1(0.8%) medical doctors. In-service training on newborn care had been received by 69(54.3%) respondents, while 22(17.3%) respondents had received training on essential newborn care. Only twenty (33.3%) facilities discharge mother and newborn 24 hours after normal delivery. Postnatal services provided included early initiation of breastfeeding by 116(91.3%) respondents. Preventive services included chlorhexidine cord care given by 86(67.7%) respondents while 27(21.3%) and 26(20.5%) gave erythromycin/ tetracycline eye prophylaxis and vitamin k1 respectively. Conclusion: Community Health Extension Workers were the major human resource for immediate newborn care; further research to determine their knowledge and skills are needed. The preventive neonatal services were few. More preventive care and 24-hour postnatal care are advocated as strategies to improve newborn outcomes.

ETHNOVETERINARY MEDICINAL USES OF SOME MEDICINAL PLANTS ON PNEUMONIA BY THE GUJJAR AND PAHARI TRIBES OF POONCH DISTRICT OF JAMMU AND KASHMIR

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
JAMIL AHMED KHAN ◽  
RAJINDER PAUL
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Medicinal Plants ◽  
Medicinal Plant ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Health Care Facilities ◽  
Jammu And Kashmir ◽  
Medicinal Uses ◽  
Modern Health Care ◽  
Care Facilities

Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir is a reservoir of enormous natural resources including the wealth of medicinal plants. The present paper deals with 12 medicinal plant species belonging to 8 genera of angiosperms used on pneumonia in cattle such as cows, sheep, goats and buffaloes in different areas of Poonch district. Due to poverty and nonavailability of modern health care facilities, the indigenous people of the area partially or fully depend on surrounding medicinal plants to cure the different ailments of their cattles. Further research on modern scientific line is necessary to improve their efficacy, safety and validation of the traditional knowledge.

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