The Impact of Personal Protective Equipment on Cognitive and Emotional Aspects of Health Care Work

Whilst Personal Protective Equipment is critical for the safety of healthcare professionals and patients, it has a negative impact on the ability to communicate and carry out patient-related work tasks, impeding care to patients. This may lead to increased fatigue, greater errors, and discomfort. ObjectivePersonal protective equipment (PPE) is critical to the safety of health professionals and vital to clinical practice. However, there is little known about the cognitive and emotional impact of PPE on health professionals' performance, comfort, and well-being.MethodsA mixed-method, cross-sectional, observational study was adopted. An online survey consisting of 5-point Likert scale questions and free-text comments canvassed the opinions of patient-facing health professionals.ResultsAn overall negative impact of PPE on health professionals' ability to carry out work was found from 185 responses from medicine, nursing, and allied health disciplines, including increased fatigue, poor communication, and feeling uncomfortable.ConclusionsThere are significant negative impacts of PPE on health professionals' ability to carry out work, impairing communication, task efficiency, and comfort. Personal protective equipment is an essential infection control practice requiring further research, design, and testing to overcome challenges.