A comparative study of point-of-care protection from N95 filtering face-piece respirators in a Residential Aged Care Facility and a Tertiary Hospital—Respiratory protection challenges remain amidst long-term impacts of COVID-19

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographics of participants.

Characteristic	RACF n = 60 Number of participants (%)	TTH n = 66 Number of participants (%)
Gender
Female	46 (76.7%)	46 (70.0%)
Male	14 (23.3)	20 (30.3%)
Ethnicity
African	2 (3.3%)	0 (0%)
Anglo	17 (28.3%)	48 (72.7%)
Asian	10 (6.7%)	12 (19.7%)
Indian	31 (51.7%)	5 (7.7%)
N95 FFR style/model
Small	19(31.7%)	10(15.2%)
Regular	32(53.3%)	42(63.6%)
Large	6(10.0%)	11(16.7%)
X-Large	3(5.0%)	3(4.5%)

Figure 1. NIOSH face panel assessment of participant anthropometric sizes bizygomatic width and Menton-Sellion length. TTH = tertiary teaching hospital (filled circles) and RACF = residential aged care facility (circles with no fill).

Table 2. Quantitative fit test results for RACF and hospital workers.

Characteristic	RACF n = 60 Number of participants (%)	TTH n = 66 Number of participants (%)	TOTAL n = 126 Number of participants (%)
Quantitative Fit test
Pass	9 (15%)	26 (39.4%)	34 (27.0%)
Fail	51 (85%)	40 (60.6%)	90 (73.0%)
Fit factors (Eo) mean (95%CI)	29.6 (13.0,46.3)	82.7 (64.2,101.2)	57.0 (43.7,70.3)

Pass/fail rates and mean fit Factors (Eo) for quantitative fit tests. Eo is the ratio of particle concentration outside to inside the respirator, with a higher Eo indicating a better seal. A “pass” is an Eo of 100 or above per NIOSH guidelines. Mean fit Factors provide a measure of average seal efficacy against this criterion.

Figure 2. Summary results from r-comfi standardized questionnaire on N95 FFR respirator tolerability from residential aged care facility (RACF) and Tertiary Teaching hospital (TTH) study participants a statistically significant difference was found between the discomfort factors on the r-comfi, whereas there was no statistical difference in the general wearing experience (relating to performing duties) between the RACF and the TTH groups.

*p < 0.001.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to their containing information that could compromise the privacy of research participants.