Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026
Comprehensive Evaluation of the Effectiveness and Safety of Placenta-Targeted Drug Delivery Using Three Complementary Methods
Published on: September 10, 2018
The use of personal protective equipment in pregnant greenhouse workers
Fabrizio Giannandrea1, Laura Settimi, Irene Figà Talamanca
1Department of Animal and Human Biology, Industrial and Environmental Hygiene Unit, University of Rome La Sapienza, P.le Aldo Moro, 5, Rome, Italy. fabrizio.giannandrea@uniroma1.it
Aim:
To determine the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) among pregnant greenhouse workers in Italy and to identify risk factors related to the non-use of appropriate preventive measures.
Methods:
A structured questionnaire was administered by trained interviewers, to Italian female greenhouse workers regarding their use of PPE and the occurrence of adverse pregnancy outcomes in their first pregnancy.
Results:
Two hundred and thirty-two workers participated. Although most pregnant women used at least one form of PPE while working, there were differences in PPE use in different social groups. Overall, the protection was inadequate in the south of Italy and among the less educated. Pregnant women performing the most dangerous jobs often did so without using PPE. Even the use of gloves was absent in 50% of pregnant women who during their pregnancy prepared and mixed pesticides, and among 38% of those who applied pesticides directly.
Conclusions:
The use of protective measures was inadequate in the south of Italy and among less educated women. The study indicates the need for urgent interventions aimed at improving PPE use during pregnancy.
Related Concept Videos
01:20Personal Protective Equipment
01:22PPE Use in Healthcare Settings I: Donning
01:25Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
01:26Standard Precaution
Hand hygiene is the most crucial means to prevent the transmission of disease. Employers are legally required to provide their workers with personal protective equipment (PPE) to minimize exposure or contact with...
01:10PPE Use in Healthcare Settings II: Doffing
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...