Read PPE Results-at-a-Glance summary.

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn by health care providers to protect them from exposure to hazardous materials such as chemicals or infectious diseases. Previous studies examining the effects of PPE on health care providers’ ability to perform emergency tasks have had mixed results. Additionally, there have not been studies evaluating the performance of these tasks on children while wearing PPE. These studies were needed to determine how PPE impacts health care providers’ ability to perform emergency care for pediatric groups.