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Research ArticleOriginal Research

Sleep Medicine Health-Care Worker Concerns About COVID-19: An Early Pandemic Survey

Karin G Johnson, Shannon S Sullivan, Vida Rastegar and Indira Gurubhagavatula
Respiratory Care November 2021, 66 (11) 1729-1738; DOI: https://doi.org/10.4187/respcare.09106
Karin G Johnson
Department of Neurology, Baystate Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts.
Institute for Healthcare Delivery and Population Science, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts.
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  • For correspondence: [email protected]
Shannon S Sullivan
Division of Pulmonary, Asthma and Sleep Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California.
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Vida Rastegar
Department of Medicine- Baystate Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, Springfield, Massachusetts.
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Indira Gurubhagavatula
Division of Sleep Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine. Dr Gurubhagavatula is affiliated with Crescenz VA Medical Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has produced numerous safety concerns for sleep medicine patients and health-care workers, especially related to the use of aerosol-generating positive airway pressure devices. Differences between physician and sleep technologist concerns with regard to viral exposure and mitigation strategies may inform protocols to ensure safety and promote patient and health-care worker resilience and retention.

METHODS: An anonymous online survey aimed at sleep medicine practitioners was active from April 29, 2020 to May 8, 2020.

RESULTS: We obtained 379 responses, including from 75 physicians and 283 technologists. The proportion of all the respondents who were extremely/very concerned about the following: exposing patients (70.8%), exposing technologists (81.7%), and droplet (82.7%) and airborne (81.6%) transmission from CPAP. The proportion of respondents who felt that aerosol precautions were extremely/very important varied by scenario: always needed (45.6%); only with CPAP (25.9%); and needed, despite negative viral testing (67.0%). More technologists versus physicians rated the following as extremely/very important: testing parents for COVID-19 (71.2 vs 47.5%; P = .01), high-efficiency particulate air filters (75.1 vs 61.8%; P = .02), and extremely/very concerned about shared-ventilation systems (65.9 vs 51.5%; shared ventilation P = .041). The respondents in northeastern and western United States were more concerned about the availability of COVID-19 testing than were those in other regions of the United States. Among the total number of respondents, 68.0% expected a ≥ 50% drop in patients willing to have in-laboratory testing, with greatest drops anticipated in northeastern United States.

CONCLUSIONS: Sleep health-care workers reported high levels of concern about exposure to COVID-19. Physicians and technologists generally showed high concordance with regard to the need for mitigation strategies, but the respondents differed widely with regard to which strategies were necessary.

  • Continuous positive airway pressure
  • polysomnography
  • sleep technologist
  • COVID-19
  • personal protective equipment
  • sleep disordered breathing
  • health care survey

Footnotes

  • Correspondence: Karin G Johnson MD, Department of Neurology, Baystate Medical Center, University of Massachusetts Medical School-Baystate, 759 Chestnut Street, Springfield, MA 01199. E-mail: karin.johnson{at}baystatehealth.org
  • Supplementary material related to this paper is available at http://www.rcjournal.com

  • The authors have disclosed no conflicts of interest.

  • Copyright © 2021 by Daedalus Enterprises
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Respiratory Care: 66 (11)
Respiratory Care
Vol. 66, Issue 11
1 Nov 2021
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Sleep Medicine Health-Care Worker Concerns About COVID-19: An Early Pandemic Survey
Karin G Johnson, Shannon S Sullivan, Vida Rastegar, Indira Gurubhagavatula
Respiratory Care Nov 2021, 66 (11) 1729-1738; DOI: 10.4187/respcare.09106

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Sleep Medicine Health-Care Worker Concerns About COVID-19: An Early Pandemic Survey
Karin G Johnson, Shannon S Sullivan, Vida Rastegar, Indira Gurubhagavatula
Respiratory Care Nov 2021, 66 (11) 1729-1738; DOI: 10.4187/respcare.09106
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Keywords

  • Continuous Positive Airway Pressure
  • polysomnography
  • sleep technologist
  • COVID-19
  • personal protective equipment
  • sleep disordered breathing
  • health care survey

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