GlobalData poll suggests sustained PPE usage by healthcare workers

The majority of people (59% of the total polled) want healthcare workers to continue to use personal protective equipment (PPE) at the same frequency as they are using it during the Covid-19 pandemic even after its ends, according to a GlobalData poll. Of those polled, 17% thought that healthcare workers should continue to use PPE after the pandemic ends, but only in the busiest parts of the hospital.

Only 10% of polled participants thought that healthcare workers should use PPE less frequently after the pandemic than they do now.

In general, these poll results suggest that most people are happy with the increased usage of PPE that has been observed during the Covid-19 pandemic and think that it should continue in some capacity even after the threat of Covid-19 spread has passed.

The PPE market exploded in 2020 as healthcare facilities scrambled to secure PPE supplies for their staff. The markets that were particularly affected included gloves, masks, shoe covers and face shields. In many cases, hospitals did not have enough supply to meet demand and healthcare staff were forced to come up with alternative ways to protect themselves such as re-sterilising PPE or using unconventional materials as PPE.

Now, the PPE supply has stabilised and healthcare facilities generally have enough stock for all healthcare workers. Therefore, in theory, the increased usage of PPE could continue post-pandemic, which means that the market supply has adjusted to meet demand and low supply would no longer be a market-limiting factor. Therefore, sustained usage of PPE post-pandemic would largely depend on sentiment towards using PPE, as well as guidelines developed by healthcare regulatory bodies.

These poll results suggest that a sustained increase in the PPE market may be the likely outcome, given the general sentiment towards PPE usage observed. As a result, GlobalData predicts that the PPE market will remain strong for years to come. The PPE market may dip slightly in the future if protocols become more relaxed and sentiment changes, but it will likely never return to pre-pandemic levels, as PPE usage has become an ingrained part of society.