{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,27]],"date-time":"2026-10-27T03:34:33Z","timestamp":1793072073998,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":27,"publisher":"Cambridge University Press (CUP)","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779753600000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779753600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/tdm\/tdmrep-policy.json"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["cambridge.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Infect. Control Hosp. Epidemiol."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as1\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To characterize institutional masking policies for healthcare personnel (HCP) and identify factors informing masking decisions in the post\u2013COVID-19 pandemic era.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as2\">\n                    <jats:title>Design:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cross-sectional, survey-based study.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as3\">\n                    <jats:title>Setting:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Healthcare institutions participating in the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America (SHEA) and Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) Research Networks.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as4\">\n                    <jats:title>Participants:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>One representative per institution, including infection preventionists, hospital epidemiologists, or healthcare administrators, knowledgeable about organizational masking policies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as5\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A structured, web-based survey was distributed through the SHEA\/APIC Research Networks. Survey domains included institutional characteristics, masking strategies outside of transmission-based precautions, epidemiologic and operational factors influencing masking decisions, and mask types required. Responses were collected anonymously via REDCap over a six-week period and analyzed descriptively.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as6\">\n                    <jats:title>Results:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>A total of 172 unique healthcare institutions completed the survey (41% response rate, n = 172\/425). Most respondents were infection preventionists (65%) or hospital epidemiologists (25%). The most common masking approach was a seasonal or situational risk-based strategy (57%), while 7% of institutions reported no formal masking policy. Among institutions using seasonal or situational masking, decisions were most frequently informed by outbreaks or clusters (37%), public health guidance (33%), and HCP illness\/absenteeism (27%). Most institutions reported no fixed epidemiologic thresholds for masking decisions. When masking was required, surgical masks were most commonly used (98%).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec id=\"S0899823X26104693_as7\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions:<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Masking policies and decision-making criteria vary widely across healthcare institutions, reflecting a lack of standardized operational guidance. These findings underscore the need for consensus-based, data-driven frameworks to support consistent, transparent, and evidence-informed masking policies in healthcare settings.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1017\/ice.2026.10469","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T13:27:50Z","timestamp":1779802070000},"page":"815-822","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1017\/policypage","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Healthcare personnel masking: current practices and gaps in standardized thresholds"],"prefix":"10.1017","volume":"47","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9254-9348","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kevin M.","family":"Gibas","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05gq02987","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05gq02987","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Brown University Health"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-8571-1621","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Thomas","family":"Head","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05gq02987","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Brown University Health"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-9977-355X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Marissa","family":"Broadley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05gq02987","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Brown University Health"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8898-7406","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Leonard A.","family":"Mermel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05gq02987","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University"},{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/05gq02987","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"Brown University Health"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"56","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"S0899823X26104693_ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.athoracsur.2015.11.024"},{"key":"S0899823X26104693_ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1001\/jamanetworkopen.2024.48063"},{"key":"S0899823X26104693_ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2020.582191"},{"key":"S0899823X26104693_ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0167-9473(96)00038-2"},{"key":"S0899823X26104693_ref18","unstructured":"18. 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Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America","name":"copyright","label":"Copyright","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.","name":"license","label":"License","group":{"name":"copyright_and_licensing","label":"Copyright and Licensing"}},{"value":"This content has been made available to all.","name":"free","label":"Free to read"}]}}