Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Report Details Use & Effectiveness of PAPRs in Healthcare

A new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) summarizes presentations, discussions and outcomes of a 2014 workshop arranged to help prioritize and accelerate NIOSH activities to update certification requirements for powered air purifying respirators (PAPRs) for use in healthcare.

IOM organized this workshop at the request of the National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory (NPPTL) at NIOSH, to discuss improving PAPR design and standards, increasing education and strengthening the implementation and use of PAPRs in healthcare settings. According to the report, the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic and the recent Ebola virus outbreak highlighted the importance of PPE and raised questions about how best to ensure appropriate and effective use of PPE to reduce disease transmission.

The workshop summarizes the discussions on current standards and regulations, the experiences of healthcare and emergency response workers and the design and research needs for PAPRs intended for use by healthcare workers.

Click here to read the full workshop or download the PDF.