Cochrane corner: personal protective equipment for preventing highly infectious diseases such as COVID-19 in healthcare staff

Abstract

As coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases continue to increase in Africa, healthcare workers (HCWs) have a high risk of being infected and the risks may be higher among those who work closely with patients. The risks of HCW infections can be mitigated with adequate precautions within healthcare facilities, especially with the use of personal protective equipment (PPE). We highlight and contextualise the findings of a Cochrane review on the type of PPE that protects best, the best way to put PPE on (donning) or to remove PPE (doffing) and how to train HCWs to use PPE. The review found low-certainty of evidence that full body PPE offer more protection, but HCWs may be faced with difficulty during donning and doffing. Following standard guidelines may be helpful in reducing infection and increasing compliance among HCWs. Video training and simulations may be better methods for training on the correct use of PPE than traditional methods of teaching. Countries must, therefore, ensure that HCWs undergo compulsory training on the correct use of PPE; regardless of their professional category. Of the 24 studies included in this review, none was conducted on the African continent. There is thus an urgent need for well conducted studies on the experiences of HCWs using full-body covering PPE within the African context. Such studies could lead to tailored interventions that will improve the proper use of PPE among HCWs.