The health belief model and personality type as predictors of personal protective equipment use by critical care nurses at risk for exposure to tuberculosis

The study was an attempt to answer the following question, "To what extent is wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) explained by the variables of the HBM and by personality type among critical care registered nurses at risk for exposure to TB?" In order to answer the research question, questionnaires were sent to a random sample of 500 critical care nurses across the nation; 231 (46.2%) responded by completing the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), questions assessing their adherence to the health belief model, self-report on wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), and personal variables. The MBTI classified respondents on four dimensions: Extroversion-Introversion (E/I), Sensation-Intuition (S/N), Thinking-Feeling (T/F), and Judgement-Perception (J/P). The HBM variables consisted of perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, barriers, and health motivation. PPE self-reports included wearing gloves, eye wear, and face masks under a variety of conditions. The findings of the study indicated that none of the dimensions of the MBTI was significantly related to wearing PPE. Health beliefs accounted for 8% of the variance in wearing PPE, with perceptions of susceptibility, seriousness, and health motivation having positively influenced wearing PPE. Critical care nurses from ethnic and racial minority groups were more likely to wear PPE than nurses from majority white ethnic groups, especially eye wear and face masks. The findings suggest that minority group member nurses perceived themselves as having greater susceptibility to TB than white nurses, which, in turn, influenced the frequency with which they wore PPE.