Table 2.

Respondents’ (n = 289) N95 respirator and surgical mask preferences by patient care setting and influenza severity

Patient Care Activity	Type of Personal Protective Equipment	Scenario
		Seasonal Influenza (%)	Mild to Moderate Severity Pandemic (eg, mortality similar to 2009) or Severe Seasonal Influenza (%)	Severe Pandemic Disease (eg, mortality ≥1%) (%)
Entry into patient room (no patient contact and >6 feet from patient)	Surgical masks	89	79	40
	Disposable N95 respirators	5	18	58
	Other*	6	3	2
Routine patient care without aerosol-generating procedures (eg, examining patient)	Surgical masks	92	72	31
	Disposable N95 respirators	7	27	67
	Other*	1	1	2
Provision of patient care involving aerosol generation	Surgical masks	38	25	8
	Disposable N95 respirators	60	72	87
	Other*	2	3	5

^*“Other” represents an option other than surgical masks or disposable N95s for respondents to select in the questionnaire, but additional data were not collected.