These guidelines recognize that health workers must be protected at all times, not only because they are needed to deliver care and save lives during epidemics, but because they may unwittingly transmit pathogens if they are not properly protected.

These guidelines aim to provide the knowledge and advice needed to protect health workers against filovirus infections (Ebola, Marburg, etc.).

Effective protection requires adequate equipment and practices. The West African Ebola outbreak taught public health planners important lessons about how best to protect those providing clinical care. These lessons - of what works, what does not, what is most practical and effective - have been collated, assessed by experts in clinical care and infection control and form the basis for these recommendations. This is an important step forward in evidence-based protection and safety for health care delivery during outbreaks.

Contents

• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Abbreviations and acronyms
• Executive summary
• 1. Background
• 2. Purpose and target audience
• 3. Methods of guideline development
  • 3.1. Technical consultation
  • 3.2. Conflict of interest assessment
  • 3.3. Decision-making during the consultation
  • 3.4. External peer review
• 4. PPE in the framework of infection prevention and control and health worker safety and well-being
  • 4.1. Infection prevention and control
  • 4.2. Safety and well-being of health workers
• 5. Evidence assessment
  • 5.1. Biology and mode of transmission of Ebola virus
  • 5.2. Rapid literature review
  • 5.3. Literature review of values and preferences of health workers
  • 5.4. Online survey of values and preferences of health workers
  • 5.5. Guiding principles for decision-making
  • 5.6. GRADE assessment and evidence-to-decision tables
• 6. Recommendations
  • 6.1. Mucous membrane protection
  • 6.2. Gloves
  • 6.3. Clothing and covering for clothing
  • 6.4. Footwear
  • 6.5. Head cover
• 7. Implementation
• 8. Gaps in knowledge and research agenda
• 9. Dissemination, evaluation and plans for updating
• References
• Annex 1. Contributors to this document
• Annex 2. Declarations and management of interests
• Annex 3. Evidence-to-decision tables
• Annex 4. How to put on and how to remove personal protective equipment - posters

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