Evaluation of Glove Liners with Objective, Subjective and Performance Measures

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate a number of inner glove liners used to protect the skin from latex proteins and chemical skin sensitizer found in gloves. A battery of performance tests were used for evaluating the inner gloves. Besides these, objective measurements such as skin temperature, skin conductance, and skin moisture content were measured. A series of subjective discomfort/comfort measures were also taken. Seventeen health care providers participated in this experiment where four liner conditions were evaluated at two temperatures. Some of the measures were recorded before and after the tests, while some other measures were recorded every fifteen minutes. Thus each subject participated in eight trials (4 liners X 2 temperatures). The tests were of two hours duration. Sweat, pegboard test, and discomfort measures were the best discriminators of liners, while the other subjective and objective measures were not.