Table 2.
Reuse of PPE during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand, by profession
| Medical (n=269) | Nursing (n=468) | Dental (n=86) | Allied health (n=486) | Other health (n=102) | Total (n=1411) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reuse of PPE | ||||||
| Personally reused PPE | 164 (61%) | 182 (39%) | 41 (48%) | 198 (41%) | 43 (42%) | 628 (45%) |
| Reusing PPE items multiple times in 1 day* | 92/164 (56%) | 116/182 (64%) | 22/41 (54%) | 136/198 (69%) | 30/43 (70%) | 396/628 (63%) |
| Reusing PPE items multiple times over more than 1 day* | 36/164 (22%) | 26/182 (14%) | 9/41 (22%) | 24/198 (12%) | 6/43 (14%) | 101/628 (16%) |
| Other*† | 4/164 (2%) | 9/182 (5%) | 2/41 (5%) | 3/198 (2%) | 3/43 (7%) | 21/628 (3%) |
| Organisation collected PPE for reuse | ||||||
| Yes | 117 (43%) | 124 (26%) | 14 (16%) | 57 (12%) | 22 (22%) | 334 (24%) |
| No | 90 (33%) | 235 (50%) | 64 (74%) | 289 (59%) | 51 (50%) | 729 (52%) |
| Do not know | 62 (23%) | 109 (23%) | 8 (9%) | 140 (29%) | 29 (28%) | 348 (25%) |
| Items of PPE collected by organisation*‡ | ||||||
| Filtering facepiece respirators | 49/117 (42%) | 32/124 (26%) | 4/14 (29%) | 20/57 (35%) | 12/22 (55%) | 117/334 (35%) |
| Surgical masks | 18/117 (15%) | 10/124 (8%) | 2/14 (14%) | 9/57 (16%) | 1/22 (5%) | 40/334 (12%) |
| Gowns | 29/117 (25%) | 28/124 (23%) | 8/14 (57%) | 13/57 (23%) | 3/22 (14%) | 81/334 (24%) |
| Face shields | 80/117 (68%) | 85/124 (69%) | 10/14 (71%) | 33/57 (58%) | 13/22 (59%) | 221/334 (66%) |
| Eyewear | 83/117 (71%) | 99/124 (80%) | 10/14 (71%) | 44/57 (77%) | 10/22 (45%) | 246/334 (74%) |
| Other§ | 2/117 (2%) | .. | .. | 4/57 (7%) | .. | 6/334 (2%) |
| Well communicated rationale for collection‡ | ||||||
| Yes | 85/117 (73%) | 88/124 (71%) | 14 (100%) | 43/57 (75%) | 16/22 (73%) | 246/334 (74%) |
| No | 25/117 (21%) | 32/124 (26%) | .. | 10/57 (18%) | 5/22 (23%) | 72/334 (22%) |
| Do not know | 7/117 (6%) | 4/124 (3%) | .. | 4/57 (7%) | 1/22 (5%) | 16/334 (5%) |
Data are n (%) or n/N (%). PPE=personal protective equipment.
*
Multiple responses possible, so totals add up to 100% or more.
†
“Other” responses given by participants included: reuse after a stand-down period, reuse if perception of low risk, reuse on a single patient, and reuse of specific items of PPE.
‡
Percentages reported are of participants whose organisations collected PPE for reuse, by profession.
§
“Other” responses given by participants included gloves, other types of masks, and other garments.