Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic: Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers
2008

Consensus

You must be logged in to download this publication.

Select Book Type

Paperback - $55.80
Ebook - $44.99

See project
Request an exam or desk copy

During an influenza pandemic, healthcare workers will be on the front lines delivering care to patients and preventing further spread of the disease. As the nation prepares for pandemic influenza, multiple avenues for protecting the health of the public are being carefully considered, ranging from rapid development of appropriate vaccines to quarantine plans should the need arise for their implementation. One vital aspect of pandemic influenza planning is the use of personal protective equipment (PPE)—the respirators, gowns, gloves, face shields, eye protection, and other equipment that will be used by healthcare workers and others in their day-to-day patient care responsibilities.

However, efforts to appropriately protect healthcare workers from illness or from infecting their families and their patients are greatly hindered by the paucity of data on the transmission of influenza and the challenges associated with training and equipping healthcare workers with effective personal protective equipment. Due to this lack of knowledge on influenza transmission, it is not possible at the present time to definitively inform healthcare workers about what PPE is critical and what level of protection this equipment will provide in a pandemic. The outbreaks of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 have underscored the importance of protecting healthcare workers from infectious agents. The surge capacity that will be required to reduce mortality from a pandemic cannot be met if healthcare workers are themselves ill or are absent due to concerns about PPE efficacy.

The IOM committee determined that there is an urgent need to address the lack of preparedness regarding effective PPE for use in an influenza pandemic. Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic : Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers identifies that require expeditious research and policy action: (1) Influenza transmission research should become an immediate and short-term research priority so that effective prevention and control strategies can be developed and refined. The current paucity of knowledge significantly hinders prevention efforts. (2) Employer and employee commitment to worker safety and appropriate use of PPE should be strengthened. Healthcare facilities should establish and promote a culture of safety. (3) An integrated effort is needed to understand the PPE requirements of the worker and to develop and utilize innovative materials and technologies to create the next generation of PPE capable of meeting these needs.

Additional materials

View the entire set of Quality Chasm books from the Institute of Medicine.

Publication information

206 pages · 6 x 9 · paperback
ISBN Paperback: 0-309-11046-7
ISBN Ebook: 0-309-11047-5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17226/11980

Suggested citation

Institute of Medicine. 2008. Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic: Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

Import this citation to:

Bibtext
EndNote
Reference manager

First Name
Last Name
Email (required)
I agree to receive emails from the National Academies (required)

We respect your privacy and will never share your information.

Search this publication

Front Matter i-xiv
Summary 1-18
1 Introduction 19-46
2 Understanding the Risk of Influenza to Healthcare Workers 47-76
3 Designing and Engineering Effective PPE 77-112
4 Using PPE: Individual and Institutional Issues 113-146
5 Certifying and Regulating Healthcare PPE: Defining an Integrated System 147-168
6 Moving Forward with Urgency 169-172
Appendix A: Workshop Agenda 173-178
Appendix B: Acronyms 179-180
Appendix C: PPE-Related Standards and Regulations 181-182
Appendix D: Standing Committee on Personal Protective Equipment in the Workplace and Board on Health Sciences Policy 183-184
Appendix E: Committee and Staff Biographies 185-192

Log In

Former MyNAP users: You'll need to reset your password on your first login to MyAcademies. Click "Forgot password" below to receive a reset link via email. Having trouble? Visit our FAQ page to contact support.

Members of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, or National Academy of Medicine should log in through their respective Academy portals.

Email (required)
Password (required)

Don't have an account?

Register

Email (required)
New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters
I accept the terms of use
terms of use

Thank You

Thank you for creating a MyAcademies account!

Enjoy free access to thousands of National Academies' publications, a 10% discount off every purchase, and build your personal library.

Forgot Password

Enter the email address for your MyAcademies (formerly MyNAP) account to receive password reset instructions.

Email (required)

Reset Requested

We sent password reset instructions to your email . Follow the link in that email to create a new password. Didn't receive it? Check your spam folder or contact us for assistance.

Reset Password

New password (required)
Retype password (required) Password must be at least 8 characters

Reset Password

Your password has been reset.

Verify email

Verify Your Email Address

We sent a verification link to your email. Please check your inbox (and spam folder) and follow the link to verify your email address. If you did not receive the email, you can request a new verification link below

Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic: Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers (2008)

Chapter: 1 Introduction

Additional materials

Publication information

Suggested citation

My Academies

Preparing for an Influenza Pandemic: Personal Protective Equipment for Healthcare Workers (2008)

Chapter: 1 Introduction