Examining the policies and guidelines around the use of masks and respirators by healthcare workers in China, Pakistan and Vietnam

Abrar Ahmad Chughtai; C Raina MacIntyre; Yang Zheng; Quanyi Wang; Zafar Iqbal Toor; Tham Chi Dung; Nguyen Tran Hien; Holly Seale

doi:10.1177/1757177414560251

Examining the policies and guidelines around the use of masks and respirators by healthcare workers in China, Pakistan and Vietnam

J Infect Prev. 2015 Mar;16(2):68-74. doi: 10.1177/1757177414560251. Epub 2014 Dec 10.

Authors

Abrar Ahmad Chughtai¹, C Raina MacIntyre², Yang Zheng³, Quanyi Wang³, Zafar Iqbal Toor⁴, Tham Chi Dung⁵, Nguyen Tran Hien⁵, Holly Seale⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health & Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.
² School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia and National Centre for Immunization Research and Surveillance of Vaccine Preventable Diseases (NCIRS), The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Australia.
³ The Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), Beijing, China.
⁴ National TB Control Program (NTP), Ministry of Health, Pakistan.
⁵ National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology (NIHE), Hanoi, Vietnam.
⁶ School of Public Health and Community Medicine, UNSW Medicine, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Abstract

Background: There is an ongoing debate regarding the type of respiratory protection that should be recommended for use for healthcare workers.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in three countries: China, Pakistan and Vietnam.

Results: In China and Pakistan, the infection control guidelines were developed to be in line with the recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while in the Vietnamese guidelines the recommendations correspond with the WHO suggestions only. The guidelines from all three countries document the need for training and fit testing; however there is no system to monitor the training and fit testing programs. Across the three countries, there was some inconsistency with regard to the types of products (i.e. masks vs. respirators) recommended for influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and tuberculosis.

Conclusions: Available evidence should be examined and a comprehensive policy should be developed on the use of masks and respirators. The policy should address critical areas such as regulation, training, fit testing and reuse.

Keywords: Healthcare-associated infections; infection control; infectious diseases; public health.