ProgressTowarda“B95”RespiratorforHealthcarePersonnel
RonShaffer,ZiqingZhuang,MikeBergman,EdFisher,AndyPalmiero,RayRoberge,Jon
Williams,Jung‐HyunKim,andEddieSinkule
NationalInstituteforOccupationalSafetyandHealth(NIOSH),NationalPersonalProtective
TechnologyLaboratory (NPPTL),Pittsburgh,PA
LewRadonovich,MeganGosch,AaronEgan
DepartmentofVeteransAffairs(VA),NationalCenter forOccupationalHealthandInfection
Control(COHIC),Gainesville,FL
Abstract
Likeotheroccupational/publichealthinterventions,respiratoryprotectionreliesupon
usercompliancetobeeffective.Unfortunately,complianceamonghealthcarepersonnel
(HCP)islessthanidealandcanbeattributedinparttoproblemsposedbytherespirators
currentlyavailabletothem,includingdiscomfort,poorcommunication,interferencewith
occupationaltasks,andtimeconstraintstouseproperly.In2008,VA/COHIC,in
collaborationwithNPPTL,formedtheProjectBREATHE(BetterRespiratorEquipment
usingAdvancedTechnologiesforHealthcareEmployees)WorkingGroup(WG),composed
ofavarietyoffederalstakeholders,todiscussstrategiesfor improvingrespirator
compliance.TheWGdeveloped28desirablefeaturesandperformancecharacteristicsofa
respiratortargetedathealthcare,whichcanbegroupedintofourkeythemes:(1)
respiratorsshouldperformtheirintendedfunctionsafelyandeffectively,(2)respirators
shouldsupport,notinterfere,withoccupationalactivities,(3)respiratorsshouldbe
comfortableandtolerableforthedurationofwear,and(4)respiratoryprotective
programsshouldcomplywithfederal/statestandards(e.g.,NIOSH,OSHA,FDA)and
guidelinesandlocalpolicies.Asanecessarynextstep,theWGidentifiedtheneedfora
newclassofrespirators(tentativelycalleda“B95”respirator),whichwouldbetteraddress
theuniqueneedsofHCPandoutlinedanationalstrategytodevelopclinically‐validated
respiratortestmethods,promote“B95”respiratorstandards,andadvancenoveldesign
features,whichtogetherwillleadtocommercialized“B95”respirators.Thepurposeofthis
presentation istodiscussrecentprogressonthe“B95”respiratorconceptandtoobtain
feedbackondraft“B95”requirements,testmethods,andpass/fail criteria.