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Healthcare Respiratory Protection Resources

Medical Evaluation for Respirator Wearers

NIOSH Documents

Hospital Respiratory Protection Program Toolkit
This toolkit was developed to assist hospitals in developing and implementing effective respiratory protection programs, with an emphasis on preventing the transmission of aerosol transmissible diseases (ATDs) to healthcare personnel.

Healthcare personnel are paid and unpaid persons who provide patient care in a healthcare setting or support the delivery of healthcare by providing clerical, dietary, housekeeping, engineering, security, or maintenance services. Healthcare personnel may potentially be exposed to ATD pathogens. Aerosols are particles or droplets suspended in air. ATDs are diseases transmitted when infectious agents, which are suspended or present in particles or droplets, contact the mucous membranes or are inhaled.

Protecting workers from exposure to all types of respiratory hazards is an important issue for hospitals and other healthcare organizations. In order to address this often overlooked danger, The Joint Commission and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (ÐÇ¿ÕÓéÀÖ¹ÙÍø), National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) have collaborated to develop a new educational monograph designed to assist hospitals in implementing their respiratory protection programs (RPPs).

Blogs

Recent NIOSH research has shed some light on the topic of the safety of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFR) use by pregnant workers.

Heat stress is a potential stress factor that healthcare workers (HCWs) who use personal protective equipment (PPE) and their employers should be aware of in order to recognize the signs and be prepared with the knowledge of how to alleviate the burden.

Particular features of PPE can impose a physiological (how the body normally functions) burden on HCWs which can be exacerbated by long work hours without adequate breaks for eating, hydration and self-care.

Respiratory protection program managers, healthcare providers, and end users should understand how proper respirator fit and use can decrease skin irritation, as well as how to treat potential skin irritation caused by extended respirator use.

Videos

NIOSH researcher Dr. Raymond Roberge describes his research on the topic of the safety of N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFR) use by pregnant workers.

Journal Articles

Roberge RJ, Kim J-H, Powell JB. [2014]
American Journal of Infection Control 42: 1097-1100.

Kim J-H, Roberge RJ, Powell JB. [2015]
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2015; 15: 45-52.

Roberge RJ, Kim J-H, Benson SM. [2012]
Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology 181: 29-35.

Roberge-RJ; Kim-J-H; Coca-A
Ann Occup Hyg 2012 Jan; 56(1):102-112