Incidence of Respiratory Illness in Outpatient Healthcare Workers Who Wear Respirators or Medical Masks While Caring for Patients

Detailed Summary

Despite widespread use of respiratory protective equipment in the U.S. healthcare workplace, there is very little clinical evidence that respirators prevent healthcare personnel (HCP) from airborne infectious diseases. Scientific investigation of this issue has been quite complicated, primarily because the use of respirators has become "the standard of care" for protection against airborne diseases in some instances, even without sufficient evidence to support their use. The key question remains: How well do respirators prevent airborne infectious diseases? The answer to this important question has important medical, public health, political and economic implications.

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