Critical Assessment of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Respirator Questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE

Medical assessment of workers using respirators is recommended widely and generally required by the OSHA. The OSHA Respirator Standard includes a mandatory respirator questionnaire (ORQ) as an appendix. The ORQ was added over 25 years ago and has not been reassessed or updated.

METHODS

A team of experienced occupational medicine professionals reviewed the questionnaire in a standardized manner.

RESULTS

Many questions warrant modification to improve clarity, specificity, and relevance to current respirator types and uses. Several currently important topics are underemphasized or missing (eg, work-related asthma, infectious hazards). The ORQ should be updated to facilitate utilization by modalities other than written questionnaire.

CONCLUSIONS

The authors recommend a systematic empirical review of the ORQ to guide a much-needed update.