Author:
Martin Christopher A.,Pan Daniel,Nazareth Joshua,Aujayeb Avinash,Bryant Luke,Carr Sue,Gray Laura J.,Gregary Bindu,Gupta Amit,Guyatt Anna L.,Gopal Alan,Hine Thomas,John Catherine,McManus I Chris,Melbourne Carl,Nellums Laura B.,Reza Rubina,Simpson Sandra,Tobin Martin D.,Woolf Katherine,Zingwe Stephen,Khunti Kamlesh,Pareek Manish,Pareek Manish,Gray Laura,Nellums Laura,Guyatt Anna L.,John Catherine,McManus I. Chris,Woolf Katherine,Abubakar Ibrahim,Gupta Amit,Abrams Keith R.,Tobin Martin D.,Wain Louise,Carr Sue,Dove Edward,Khunti Kamlesh,Ford David,Free Robert,
Abstract
Abstract
Background
Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE) reduces this risk. We sought to determine the prevalence and predictors of self-reported access to appropriate PPE (aPPE) for HCWs in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
We conducted cross sectional analyses using data from a nationwide questionnaire-based cohort study administered between December 2020-February 2021. The outcome was a binary measure of self-reported aPPE (access all of the time vs access most of the time or less frequently) at two timepoints: the first national lockdown in the UK in March 2020 (primary analysis) and at the time of questionnaire response (secondary analysis).
Results
Ten thousand five hundred eight HCWs were included in the primary analysis, and 12,252 in the secondary analysis. 35.2% of HCWs reported aPPE at all times in the primary analysis; 83.9% reported aPPE at all times in the secondary analysis. In the primary analysis, after adjustment (for age, sex, ethnicity, migration status, occupation, aerosol generating procedure exposure, work sector and region, working hours, night shift frequency and trust in employing organisation), older HCWs and those working in Intensive Care Units were more likely to report aPPE at all times. Asian HCWs (aOR:0.77, 95%CI 0.67–0.89 [vs White]), those in allied health professional and dental roles (vs those in medical roles), and those who saw a higher number of COVID-19 patients compared to those who saw none (≥ 21 patients/week 0.74, 0.61–0.90) were less likely to report aPPE at all times. Those who trusted their employing organisation to deal with concerns about unsafe clinical practice, compared to those who did not, were twice as likely to report aPPE at all times. Significant predictors were largely unchanged in the secondary analysis.
Conclusions
Only a third of HCWs in the UK reported aPPE at all times during the first lockdown and that aPPE had improved later in the pandemic. We also identified key determinants of aPPE during the first UK lockdown, which have mostly persisted since lockdown was eased. These findings have important implications for the safe delivery of healthcare during the pandemic.
Funder
Medical Research Council
National Institute for Health Research
Academy of Medical Sciences
Wellcome Trust
British Heart Foundation
National Institute for Health Research Applied research collaboration East Midlands
NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
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