Assessment and Determination of Practical Considerations for Wide-scale Utilization of Elastometric Half-facepiece Respirators During a Pandemic or Outbreak Situation
N95 filtering facepiece respirators are the primary choice among respirators, but they cannot be disinfected for re-use and must be disposed of after use by a patient. Because of high demand during a pandemic or wide-scale outbreak, availability can become extremely limited from suppliers
This project investigated whether it is feasible to utilize reusable elastomeric half-facepiece respirators in place of N95 filtering facepiece respirators
The research suggests that elastomeric half-facepiece respirators should be considered for use during a pandemic, as they do not require fit-testing (as in the case of N95 respirators), and offer several advantages including being less wasteful, reusable, enhance capacity for users to compete a seal check, a higher level of protection, and potentially less costly over time. Challenges related to cleaning and disinfection, storage, comfort, and ease of communication are impediments to wide use
| Principal Applicant: | Rita Ciconte and Quinn Danyluk (Fraser Health) |
| Co-applicants: | Prescillia Chua, Sandra Daniels, Terry Dickson, Gerry Ducholke (Fraser Health); George Astrakianakis (UBC) |
| Funding Awarded: | $50,000 (Innovation)* |
In partnership with the WCB of Nova Scotia