Mandatory Use of Face Masks to Curb the Spread of COVID 19

COVID-19 pandemic has become a global public health issue, considering that the infection and mortality rate continues to rise almost two years after the first case in Wuhan, China. The US is one of the most affected nations that continues to register more than 30,000 cases daily despite nationwide vaccination rollout. This situation indicates that US citizens are yet to adhere to public health guidelines on social distancing, hand hygiene, and wearing masks. Notably, there is a need to explore the current evidence-based research to establish the effectiveness of wearing masks curbing the spread of COVID-19.

PICOT Question

In the emergency department, is the mandatory use of face masks effective in preventing the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic?

Evidence-Based Solution

Wearing masks is one of the public health guidelines that is aimed at reducing transmission and infection rates. A study by Lyu & Wehby (2020) that sought to examine the impacts of mandatory wearing of face masks in 15 states in the US resulted in a decline of daily infections. According to Lyu & Wehby, there was a 0.9% decline during the first five days and a 2% decline in daily cases when individuals adhered to wearing masks for 21 days. These findings mirror those of Fisher et al. (2021), who used state-level data to compare states with high adherence rates to mask-wearing to those with lower adherence rates. The study revealed that states without mask-wearing policies reported more cases than those with at least 75% adherence to mandatory policy. Essentially, the findings of the two studies provide evidence that mandatory use of face masks in the emergency department would significantly reduce the spread of COOVID-19.

Nursing Intervention

Nursing professionals have multiple roles in nursing homes, acute care, schools, and government healthcare agencies. Chen et al. (2020) note that the roles of nurses could be divided into four domains: provision of health education, surveillance, prevention, and providing acute care. Notably all of these roles prepare them to improve the outcomes of COVID-19 patient through public awareness campaigns and early screening. Essentially, nursing professionals ensure that they wear masks and thus model this behavior and requirement to patients and other workers in emergency departments.

Patient Care

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a surge in the number of hospitalized individuals and those who are being screened for the virus. This surge means that nurses have an additional workload, considering that they have to ensure all patients’ wellbeing and clinical outcomes. According to Jazieh & Kozlakidis (2020), nurses have adopted telehealth services to decongest hospitals by insisting on home-based care with caregivers required to wear masks while attending to their kin. This arrangement is convenient and cost-effective since it is possible to monitor and manage many patients remotely and at the same time enhance patient-centered care.

Health Care Agency

Health care agencies have a responsibility of enforcing mandatory wearing of masks among citizens and healthcare workers to curb the spread of COVID-19 pandemic. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention is the primary health agency that advocates for wearing masks in public settings and spaces. However, Gostin et al. (2020) note that although these agencies highlight the need for mandatory wearing of masks, considerable inconsistencies and variabilities exist due to a lack of a national mandate. Thus, efforts by public health agencies become invisible to the point of people congregating without adherence to mask-wearing provision paving the way for a surge in infection rates.

Nursing Practice

The COVID-19 pandemic has established that most healthcare facilities were unprepared to handle a surge in demand for screening, preventive and acute care services. Notably, most nations did not have an ample supply of protective equipment at the beginning of the pandemic. This situation had adverse effects on nursing practice, considering that 87% of nurses had to reuse singe use masks (Cohen & Rodgers, 2020). As a result, 27% of the nurses were confirmed to have become exposed patients with confirmed cases which cause the death of 342 healthcare workers by July 2020 (Cohen & Rodgers, 20202). However, steady supply and mandatory wearing of masks have averted this situation since the risk for transmission and infection has reduced significantly.

References

Chen, S., Lai, Y., & Tsay, S. (2020). Nursing perspectives on the impacts of COVID-19. Journal of Nursing Research, 28(3), 85-101. doi: 10.1097/jnr.0000000000000389

Cohen, J., & Rodgers, Y. (2020). Contributing factors to personal protective equipment shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic. Preventive Medicine, 141(5), 62-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106263

Fischer, C. B., Adrien, N., Silguero, J. J., Hopper, J. J., Chowdhury, A. I, & Werler, M. M. (2021). Mask adherence and rate of COVID-19 across the United States. PLoS ONE 16(4), 24-37. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0249891

Gostin, L. O., Cohen, I. G., & Koplan, J. P. (2020) Universal masking in the United States: The role of mandates, health education, and the CDC. JAMA, 324(9), 837–848. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.15271

Jazieh, A. R., & Kozlakidis, Z. (2020). Healthcare transformation in the post-coronavirus pandemic era. Frontiers in Medicine, 7(3), 429-441. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.00429

Lyu, W., & Wehby, G. L. (2020). Community use of face masks and COVID-19: Evidence from a natural experiment of state mandates in the US. Health Affairs, 39(8), 10-27. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2020.00818

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