scholarly journals Increased Prevalence of Face Mask—Induced Itch in Health Care Workers

Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 451
Author(s):  
Piotr K. Krajewski ◽  
Łukasz Matusiak ◽  
Marta Szepietowska ◽  
Rafał Białynicki-Birula ◽  
Jacek C. Szepietowski
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Numeric Rating Scale ◽  
Internet Survey ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Itch Sensation

Background: Face mask use has increased significantly due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Health care workers (HCW) wear masks for prolonged periods and are prone to adverse effects. Very little is known about face-mask-associated itch. Methods: This Internet survey study investigated the prevalence, intensity and clinical characteristics of itch related to the use of face masks by HCW during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results were subsequently compared to the students’ group. Results: A total of 1156 HCW completed the survey. Among them, 31.6% (365) reported suffering from itch associated with face mask use. Itch was more frequent among females. Moreover, subjects who reported sensitive skin, atopic predispositions and facial dermatoses tended to report itch more frequently. The worst case of itch in the seven days prior to the study, assessed with the numeric rating scale (NRS), was 4.6 ± 2.0 points. Itch prevalence increased along with the duration of face mask use, being 34.6% among those who wore masks for more than 4 h. HCW reported itch significantly more frequently than students. Conclusions: Face-mask-associated itch is a frequent problem among HCW in the COVID-19 pandemic. Itch sensation may cause scratching, which may decrease necessary protection during the pandemic.

Corona Virus (COVID-19) Awareness Assessment - A Survey Study Amongst the Indian Population

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabriela Fernandes
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Indian Population ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Social Distancing ◽  
Corona Virus ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Amount Of Knowledge

Aim: The aim of this survey study was to assess the level of awareness amongst Indian population regarding the COVID-19. Method: A survey was conducted amongst 745 individuals to assess their level of awareness regarding COVID-19 and steps to be taken for its prevention. Result: The results revealed that a considerable percentage of individuals learned about the pandemic through social media and news and were aware of the mode of spread of the virus and also steps to be taken to prevent it from spreading. But considerable percentage of people was also not fully aware regarding the age groups this virus will be affecting. Conclusion: Upon understanding the percentage of people not aware about the age groups this virus will be affecting, keeping in mind good amount of knowledge amongst individuals about maintaining hygiene and social distancing, this survey would help the health care workers to create awareness regarding the effect of this virus on different age groups to help prevent carelessness amongst youth in following the regime.

scholarly journals Evaluation of facemask associated acne/ “Maskne” among health care workers and non-health care workers of India during COVID-19 pandemic-A cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 243-248
Author(s):  
Krina B Patel ◽  
Savfeena M. Nagani ◽  
Aanal T. Patel ◽  
Nirav Bapat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Front Line Workers

“MASK-NE”-Mask associated Acne, is a common form of acne during COVID-19 pandemic. It is type of acne mechanica seen when external factor occludes the skin, leads to irritation, inflammation and starts/aggravates all grades of acne.We conducted a cross-sectional study among 773 participants, using a Self-administered, aim oriented, questionnaire which includes demographic data, acne related history, type and duration of wearing mask & other mask related skin problems in COVID-19 pandemic during 15 October to 15December,2020.: Among 773 participants, age ranged 18-45 years with mean 30.69 (SD: 61.30) and M:F was 1:1.78. After starting of Pandemic, occurrence of new development of mask associated Acne/ Maskne was higher among Health Care Workers (HCW) (34.98%) as compared to non- Health Care Workers (non-HCWs) (17.36%). Moreover, more number of HCWs had aggravation of their pre-existing acne and/or development of new of acne during pandemic (81.2%) than non-HCWs (61%). Wearing N95 type of mask showed the highest aggravation (82%) of Maskne as compare to wearing Surgical mask (75.5%) and wearing cloth (cotton) mask (65.6%).Wearing a face mask for 4 to 8 hours/day and >8 hours/day showed increase in the aggravation of Maskne as compared to wearing a facemask <4 hrs/day.Though wearing face masks can be the best strategy against COVID-19 infection, HAZARD OF THIS SAFETY is not negligible especially in front-line workers-doctors, nurses, pharmacist, policemen, hospital staff who are at higher risk due to several factors including type of mask use, duration of mask use etc.

scholarly journals “Face mask dermatitis” due to compulsory facial masks during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: data from 550 health care and non-health care workers in Germany

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 199-204
Author(s):  
Anne-Charlotte Niesert ◽  
Eva M. Oppel ◽  
Tobias Nellessen ◽  
Surina Frey ◽  
Benjamin M. Clanner-Engelshofen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Care Workers

scholarly journals Provider Perceptions of a Humanizing Intervention for Health Care Workers—A Survey Study of PPE Portraits

2020 ◽  
Vol 60 (5) ◽  
pp. e7-e10
Author(s):  
Jennifer Reidy ◽  
Cati Brown-Johnson ◽  
Nancy McCool ◽  
Shawna Steadman ◽  
Mary B. Heffernan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Provider Perceptions ◽  
Care Workers

scholarly journals Construct validity and differential item functioning of the PHQ-9 among health care workers: Rasch Analysis approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Surin Jiraniramai ◽  
Tinakon Wongpakaran ◽  
Chaisiri Angkurawaranon ◽  
Wichuda Jiraporncharoen ◽  
Nahathai Wongpakaran
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Differential Item Functioning ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Psychometric Property ◽  
Rasch Measurement ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Item Functioning ◽  
Care Workers

Abstract Background The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) is a widely used self-report questionnaire to screen depression. Its psychometric property has been tested in many populations including health care workers. We used Rasch measurement theory to examine the psychometric properties of PHQ-9 regarding item difficulty, item fit and the differences between subgroups of respondents classified by sex, age, education and alcohol user status, based on the same overall location of participants.Methods In total, 3,204 health care workers of Maharaj Nakorn Chiang Mai Hospital participated and were administered the PHQ-9. Rating scale Rasch measurement modeling was used to examine the psychometric properties of the PHQ-9.Results The data fitted well to the Rasch model and no violations of the assumption of unidimensionality were observed. All 9 items could form a unidimensional construct of overall depressive severity. Suicidal ideation was the least endorsed while sleep problem was the most. No disordered category and threshold of the rating response were observed. No locally dependent items were observed. No items were found to show differential item functioning across age, sex, education and alcohol consumption. The item-person Wright map showed that the PHQ-9 did not target well with the sample, and a wide gap suggesting few or no items exist to differentiate participants at a certain ability level among the PHQ-9 items.Conclusion The PHQ-9 can be used as a screening questionnaire for major depressive disorder as its psychometric property was verified based on Rasch measurement model. The findings are generally consistent with related studies in other populations. However, the PHQ-9 may be unsuitable for assessing depressive symptoms among health care workers who have low levels of depression.

scholarly journals Use of face mask in COVID-19 pandemic-a review

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 3750
Author(s):  
Santosh Kumar Swain ◽  
Pragnya Paramita Jena
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Virus Disease ◽  
Minimum Cost ◽  
Face Mask ◽  
Medical Community ◽  
Care Workers ◽  
Surgical Masks ◽  
The World ◽  
The Face

The current novel corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a highly infectious disease of the respiratory tract and rapidly spreading all over the world in short span of time. In current COVID-19 pandemic, use of the face mask is becoming usual and ubiquitous for both health care workers and public individuals. Wearing face mask is one of the non-pharmaceutical interventions which need minimum cost and provide dramatic response for preventing the COVID-19 infection. Limited availability of the vaccine and inadequate supply of therapeutic options, face mask use is an important part for public health measures for restricting the COVID-19 spread. Regardless of the debate among medical community regarding global face mask production shortage, a greater number of countries in the world are moving ahead with recommendations or mandates for using face mask in public. As currently global shortage of N95/FFP2 respirators and surgical masks for use by health care workers in the hospitals, simple cloth masks will act as a pragmatic solution for the use of the public. General public often use the surgical mask or even filtering facepiece (FFP) masks irrespective of their need, resulting unnecessary shortage for needy individuals those are exposed to the patients or those are health care workers. So, this review article will clarify the indication of the different types of masks and their rational use in the current COVID-19 pandemic.

scholarly journals Association of Social Network Use With Increased Anxiety Related to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Anesthesiology, Intensive Care, and Emergency Medicine Teams: Cross-Sectional Web-Based Survey Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Clavier ◽  
Benjamin Popoff ◽  
Jean Selim ◽  
Marion Beuzelin ◽  
Melanie Roussel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Social Networks ◽  
Emergency Medicine ◽  
Critical Care ◽  
Intensive Care ◽  
Social Network ◽  
Health Care Workers ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Care Workers

BACKGROUND Critical care teams are on the front line of managing the COVID-19 pandemic, which is stressful for members of these teams. OBJECTIVE Our objective was to assess whether the use of social networks is associated with increased anxiety related to the COVID-19 pandemic among members of critical care teams. METHODS We distributed a web-based survey to physicians, residents, registered and auxiliary nurses, and nurse anesthetists providing critical care (anesthesiology, intensive care, or emergency medicine) in several French hospitals. The survey evaluated the respondents’ use of social networks, their sources of information on COVID-19, and their levels of anxiety and information regarding COVID-19 on analog scales from 0 to 10. RESULTS We included 641 respondents in the final analysis; 553 (86.3%) used social networks, spending a median time of 60 minutes (IQR 30-90) per day on these networks. COVID-19–related anxiety was higher in social network users than in health care workers who did not use these networks (median 6, IQR 5-8 vs median 5, IQR 3-7) in univariate (<i>P</i>=.02) and multivariate (<i>P</i>&lt;.001) analyses, with an average anxiety increase of 10% in social network users. Anxiety was higher among health care workers using social networks to obtain information on COVID-19 than among those using other sources (median 6, IQR 5-8 vs median 6, IQR 4-7; <i>P</i>=.04). Social network users considered that they were less informed about COVID-19 than those who did not use social networks (median 8, IQR 7-9 vs median 7, IQR 6-8; <i>P</i>&lt;.01). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that social networks contribute to increased anxiety in critical care teams. To protect their mental health, critical care professionals should consider limiting their use of these networks during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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