Scientific evidence on the efficacy of community mask wearing in the reduction of COVID-19 spread has increased in the last one year. According to Brooks & Butler (2021), scientific evidence on the efficacy of face masks in the reduction of respiratory infections’ spread was scarce. However, research conducted since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the world has suggested that proper wearing of face masks has a dual effect or importance in reducing viral spread. First, the masks protect individuals from droplets containing the virus from infected individuals and also serves to protect other people once a person is infected. The current proposal, therefore, serves to investigate the effectiveness of facemask usage in preventing the spread of the corona virus pandemic and also proposes interventions to further protect vulnerable individuals. The current model proposes increased use of facemasks as a way of reducing COVID-19 spread. Published scientific evidence shall be used to justify the proposal.
Facemask wearing to reduce COVID-19 spread remains a highly controversial subject in scientific literature regarding the disease. Eikenberry et al. (2020) argue that although the facemasks are highly recommended, their potential for intervention is scarcely understood. Therefore, a community-wide model is needed to establish whether they reduce viral spread. According to Abd-Elsayed & Karri (2020), the usage of substandard masks has been highly discouraged suggesting that medical professionals relate the use of good-quality masks with a significant reduction of viral spread. Maclntyre & Hasanain (2020) the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has recommended the use of facemasks while the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended other measures such as proper hygiene and social distancing. However, use of facemasks should not be discouraged since it is impossible maintaining social distance in some cases.
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The intervention will rely on documented evidence regarding the use of facemasks in the community. Although their use remains controversial, evidence on published studies reveal that the masks reduce the chances of saliva and mucus droplets being released in the atmosphere and so in cases where an individual is infected, the chances of infecting other people is reduced. Cotrin et al. (2020) conducted a community-based study to establish whether individuals were wearing masks and their perception towards their effectiveness. Contrin et al. (2020) established that almost all the 1277 participants were wearing face masks. Kumar et al. (2020) also suggest that people have a positive attitude towards the use of facemasks in the reduction of COVID-19 spread. Therefore, since many people in the community already have a positive attitude in the use of facemasks, the trend should be reinforced by creating more awareness on their use.
COVID-19 spread is a very important topic for nurses. The pandemic has created a knowledge gap that needs to be filled to ensure that nurses play their role with regard to its prevention and management. Since the disease emerged in 2019, nurses should rely on published evidence to establish evidence-based interventions already in place. As a solution to the problem, increased sensitization should be used to ensure that more people use facemasks in the community. Coclite et al. (2020) used mathematical models to conclude that wearing facemasks reduces viral spread and consequentially reduces the rate of infection in the community. Millions of people are still infected worldwide (Worby & Chang, 2020). Therefore, the current proposal is timely to ensure that people are more informed as they explore ways of reducing the chances of contracting COVID-19. As more studies are published, nurses should improve their reading culture to identify emerging evidence-based interventions and practices with regard to COVID-19 prevention and management.
References
Abd-Elsayed, A., & Karri, J. (2020). Utility of Substandard Face Mask Options for Health Care Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Anesthesia and Analgesia , 131 (1), 4–6. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000004841
Brooks, J. T. & Butler, J. C. (2021). Effectiveness of mask wearing to control community spread of SARS-CoV-2. JAMA, 325 (10), 998-999. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.2021.1505
Coclite, D., Napoletano, A., Gianola, S., Del Monaco, A., D'Angelo, D., Fauci, A., Iacorossi, L., Latina, R., Torre, G., Mastroianni, C. M., Renzi, C., Castellini, G., & Iannone, P. (2021). Face Mask Use in the Community for Reducing the Spread of COVID-19: A Systematic Review. Frontiers in Medicine , 7 , 594269. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmed.2020.594269
Cotrin, P., Bahls, A. C., da Silva, D. O., Girão, V., Pinzan-Vercelino, C., de Oliveira, R., Oliveira, R. C., Carvalho, M., Pelloso, S. M., Valarelli, F. P., & Freitas, K. (2020). The Use of Facemasks during the COVID-19 Pandemic by the Brazilian Population. Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare , 13 , 1169–1178. https://doi.org/10.2147/JMDH.S281524
Eikenberry, S. E., Mancuso, M., Iboi, E., Phan, T., Eikenberry, K., Kuang, Y., … Gumel, A. B. (2020). To mask or not to mask: Modeling the potential for face mask use by the general public to curtail the COVID-19 pandemic. Infectious Disease Modelling. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.idm.2020.04.001
Kumar, J., Katto, M. S., Siddiqui, A. A., Sahito, B., Jamil, M., Rasheed, N., & Ali, M. (2020). Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices of Healthcare Workers Regarding the Use of Face Mask to Limit the Spread of the New Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). Cureus , 12 (4), e7737. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.7737
MacIntyre, C. R., & Hasanain, S. J. (2020). Community Universal Face Mask Use during the COVID 19 pandemic—from households to travelers and public spaces . Journal of Travel Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1093/jtm/taaa056
Worby, C. J. & Chang, H. (2020). Facemask use in the general population and optimal resource allocation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nature Communications, 11 (4049). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17922-x
