COVID-19: factors associated with the use of personal protective equipment by primary care workers

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the factors associated with the proper use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) by Primary Health Care (PHC) workers. Cross-sectional study, carried out in Brazil, in a virtual environment between August/2020 and March/2021. For data collection, the validated instrument “P.P.E. - PHC COVID-19” was used. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests, prevalence ratio, 95% confidence interval, and Poisson regression with p≤0.005 significance were used. The research was approved by the Ethics Committee for Research with Human Beings and 455 workers participated in the survey. Workers aged 37 years or older had a prevalence of 1.59 times higher for proper use of glasses/face shields, 1.39 times higher for N95 masks, and 1.23 times higher for correct hand hygiene. The use of gloves showed a 35% higher prevalence for workers with working hours of ≤ 40 hours. The age group 37 years or older was associated with the use of N95 masks (PR=1.107) and hand hygiene (PR=1.075). Working hours of ≤ 40 hours were associated with the use of gloves (PR=0.846). It is concluded that the factors associated with the proper use of PPE are age group 37 years or older and working hours of ≤ 40 hours.