Health care workers' knowledge and confidence in personal protective equipment during the H1N1 pandemic in Israel

Objectives Healthcare workers (HCW) are at increased risk of infection during pandemics. HCW personal protective equipment (PPE) use has been shown to lower infection rates among HCW and patients. However, low compliance and misuse are frequent. Since future outbreaks are unavoidable, this issue needs to be addressed. Methods A validated questionnaire was distributed to 617 HCWs (nurses and physicians) in 21 hospitals and 40 primary care clinics in Israel at the peak of the A/H1N1 pandemic. Results PPE confidence was higher among HCWs with higher tested and self-perceived knowledge. Confidence was also higher among nurses compared with physicians and among employees in hospitals compared with those in primary care clinics. Experience treating A/H1N1 patients was related to higher self-perceived knowledge and PPE confidence. Conclusions High levels of PPE knowledge were significantly correlated to HCWs' confidence in PPE and may help increase PPE usage and reduce absenteeism.