Online Program

329423
Motivators and barriers to the use of personal protective equipment among custodians


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Jennifer Garza, ScD, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Connecticut, Farmington, CT
Sara Wakai, PhD, Center for Public Health and Health Policy, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT
Jennifer Cavallari, ScD, CIH, Division of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington, CT
Background and Objectives: Custodians encounter many hazards in their workplaces. Personal protective equipment (PPE) provides one way for custodians to protect themselves from workplace hazards. The objective of this study was to identify motivators and barriers to the use of PPE among custodians.

Methods: We employed a mixed methods approach including a cross-sectional survey and a series of focus groups to identify factors associated with the use of safety gloves, long-sleeved shirt/pants, non-slip shoes, safety glasses, and face mask/respirators among custodians. Custodians were recruited from three universities and one university-affiliated hospital; all state and contract workers employed at these agencies were eligible to participate. Chi-squared tests were used to investigate demographic and workplace factors associated with PPE use. Focus group data was analyzed qualitatively to identify themes.

Results: Most participants in this study wore safety gloves (75%) all of the time, while fewer participants wore other types of PPE frequently (all of the time non-slip shoes (47%), long-sleeved shirt/pants (33%), safety glasses (9%), face mask/respirator (8%)). Factors including having training on health hazards of cleaners were associated with increased PPE use based on the survey analysis.  Among other factors, participants identified PPE policies as affecting PPE use during focus groups.

Conclusions: While glove use was high, use of some other PPE was low among custodians. Increasing training and PPE policies may increase PPE use in this population.

Learning Areas:

Occupational health and safety
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines

Learning Objectives:
Describe trends in the use of personal protective equipment among custodians Identify factors associated with the use of personal protective equipment among custodians

Keyword(s): Chemical Exposures & Prevention, Occupational Health and Safety

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a doctorate in Environmental Health and am a certified industrial hygienist. I was involved in the study design, data analysis, data interpretation and creation of the poster.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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