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Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols

Date Submitted: Jul 9, 2023
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 9, 2023 - Jul 21, 2023
Date Accepted: Jul 21, 2023
(closed for review but you can still tweet)

The final, peer-reviewed published version of this preprint can be found here:

Postpandemic Evaluation of the Eco-Efficiency of Personal Protective Equipment Against COVID-19 in Emergency Departments: Proposal for a Mixed Methods Study

Berthelot S, Longtin Y, Margni M, Guertin JR, LeBlanc A, Marx T, Mangou K, Bluteau A, Mantovani D, Mikhaylin S, Bergeron F, Dancause V, Desjardins A, Lahrichi N, Martin D, Sossa CJ, Lachapelle P, Genest I, Schaal S, Gignac A, Tremblay S, Hufty Ã, Bélanger L, Notebaert Ã, Betty EE

Postpandemic Evaluation of the Eco-Efficiency of Personal Protective Equipment Against COVID-19 in Emergency Departments: Proposal for a Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Res Protoc 2023;12:e50682

DOI: 10.2196/50682

PMID: 38060296

PMCID: 10739239

Post-pandemic evaluation of the eco-efficiency of personal protective equipment against COVID-19 in emergency departments: a mixed method study protocol

  • Simon Berthelot; 
  • Yves Longtin; 
  • Manuele Margni; 
  • Jason Robert Guertin; 
  • Annie LeBlanc; 
  • Tania Marx; 
  • Khadidiatou Mangou; 
  • Ariane Bluteau; 
  • Diego Mantovani; 
  • Sergey Mikhaylin; 
  • Frédéric Bergeron; 
  • Valérie Dancause; 
  • Anne Desjardins; 
  • Nadia Lahrichi; 
  • Danielle Martin; 
  • Charles Jérôme Sossa; 
  • Philippe Lachapelle; 
  • Isabelle Genest; 
  • Stéphane Schaal; 
  • Anne Gignac; 
  • Stéphane Tremblay; 
  • Éric Hufty; 
  • Lynda Bélanger; 
  • Éric Notebaert; 
  • Erica Elizabeth Betty

ABSTRACT

Background:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on emergency department (ED) care in Canada and around the world. To prevent transmission of COVID-19, personal protective equipment (PPE) was required for all ED care providers in contact with suspected cases. With mass vaccination and improvements in several infection prevention components, our hypothesis is that the risks of transmission of COVID-19 will be significantly reduced and that current PPE use will have economic and ecological consequences that exceed its anticipated benefits. Evidence is needed to evaluate PPE use so that recommendations can ensure the clinical, economic and environmental efficiency (i.e., eco-efficiency) of its use.

Objective:

To support the development of recommendations for the eco-efficient use of PPE, our research objectives are to: 1) Estimate the clinical effectiveness (reduced transmission, hospitalizations, mortality, and work absenteeism) of PPE against COVID-19 for healthcare workers; 2) Estimate the financial cost of using PPE in the ED for the management of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patients; and 3) Estimate the ecological footprint of PPE use against COVID-19 in the ED.

Methods:

We will conduct a mixed method study to evaluate the eco-efficiency of PPE use in the five EDs of the CHU de Québec-Université Laval (Québec, Canada). To achieve our goals, the project will include 4 phases: Phase 1: Systematic review of the literature to assess the clinical effectiveness of PPE (objective 1); Phase 2: Cost estimation of PPE use in the ED using a time-driven activity-based costing method (objective 2); Phase 3: Ecological footprint estimation of PPE use using a life cycle assessment approach (objective 3); Phase 4: Cost-consequence analysis and focus groups (integration of objectives 1 to 3)

Results:

The first 3 phases have started. The results of these phases will be available in 2023. Phase 4 will begin in 2023 and results will be available in 2024.

Conclusions:

While the benefits of PPE use are likely to diminish as healthcare worker immunity increases, it is important to assess its economic and ecological impacts to develop recommendations to guide its eco-efficient use. Clinical Trial: N/A


 Citation

Please cite as:

Berthelot S, Longtin Y, Margni M, Guertin JR, LeBlanc A, Marx T, Mangou K, Bluteau A, Mantovani D, Mikhaylin S, Bergeron F, Dancause V, Desjardins A, Lahrichi N, Martin D, Sossa CJ, Lachapelle P, Genest I, Schaal S, Gignac A, Tremblay S, Hufty Ã, Bélanger L, Notebaert Ã, Betty EE

Postpandemic Evaluation of the Eco-Efficiency of Personal Protective Equipment Against COVID-19 in Emergency Departments: Proposal for a Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Res Protoc 2023;12:e50682

DOI: 10.2196/50682

PMID: 38060296

PMCID: 10739239

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