Preventing Facial Pressure Injury for Health Care Providers Adhering to COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment Requirements.

Objective: To determine if a repurposed silicone-based dressing used underneath an N95 mask is a safe and beneficial option for facial skin injury prevention without compromising the mask's seal.

Methods: Since February 21, 2020, staff in high-risk areas such as the ED and ICU of King Hamad University Hospital have worn N95 masks when performing aerosol-generating procedures to protect against the novel coronavirus 2019. At that time, without education enablers or resources that could be directly translated into practice, the hospital's Pressure Injury Prevention Committee explored, created, and tested a stepwise process to protect the skin under these masks while ensuring that it did not interfere with the effectiveness of the N95 mask seal.