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Effectiveness of Mask-Wearing on Respiratory Illness Transmission in Community Settings: A Rapid Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2022

Megan Baier Open the ORCID record for Megan Baier [Opens in a new window] ,
Mary Jo Knobloch ,
Fauzia Osman  and
Nasia Safdar
Megan Baier
Affiliation:
Division Infections Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
Mary Jo Knobloch
Affiliation:
Division Infections Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA The William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, USA
Fauzia Osman
Affiliation:
Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA
Nasia Safdar*
Affiliation:
Division Infections Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, USA The William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans Hospital, Madison, WI, USA
*
Corresponding author: Nasia Safdar, Email: ns2@medicine.wisc.edu.
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Abstract

Objective:

Respiratory illnesses, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), have resulted in millions of deaths globally. Guidance on mask-wearing in community settings has been inconsistent. This review examined the effectiveness of mask-wearing on respiratory virus transmission in community settings.

Methods:

A search was conducted for English language reports of randomized controlled trials of mask-wearing in the community and effect on laboratory-confirmed respiratory infections or influenza-like illness. Investigators abstracted study characteristics and assessed bias. Meta-analysis was conducted to calculate pooled risk estimates.

Results:

Eleven studies were included. In 7 studies that evaluated influenza-like illness symptoms as an outcome (3029 participants), this study found mask-wearing associated with a decreased risk of influenza-like illness (overall risk ratio [RR], 0.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.71 to 0.96). Studies examining laboratory-confirmed respiratory infections as an outcome (10,531 participants) showed no statistically significant association between mask-wearing and infections (RR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.60-1.80). However, masking combined with enhanced hand hygiene was associated with a decreased risk for both influenza-like illness symptoms (RR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.51-1.51) and laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection (RR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.52-1.18).

Conclusions:

Masking in community settings decreases transmission of influenza-like illness. Mask-wearing combined with enhanced hand hygiene reduces transmission of influenza-like illness and laboratory-confirmed respiratory infection.

Keywords

Maskingcommunitytransmissionrespiratoryinfection
Type
Systematic Review
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e96
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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