Effectiveness of Face Masks in Preventing the Transmission of Respiratory Tract Infections: A Rapid Review

Abstract

Introduction: People wear various types of face masks to protect themselves from breathing in dust, pollutants, allergies, and harmful organisms. In light of the recent Covid-19 pandemic, maskwearing has been made mandatory globally. As part of personal protective equipment and a public health strategy to stop the spread of illnesses, wearing face masks has been widely recommended. This rapid review was conducted to explore and analyze the effectiveness of face mask usage in preventing the transmission of respiratory tract infection. Method: The review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Twenty three out of 134 articles met the inclusion criteria. The types of masks studied were N95 masks, surgical masks, cloth masks, non-medical masks, and unspecified face masks.  Result and conclusion: The analysis of the review indicates that the usage of masks does indeed offer a certain degree of protection to the individual and to those around them. Therefore, policy makers should encourage the general population to use face masks for health protection. However, more evidence is required in terms of clarifying the usage of the mask in various settings and against diverse types of infection. It is emphasised that the use of face masks, in combination with other preventive measures such as handwashing and social distancing, should be implemented concurrently to prevent any outbreak of respiratory tract infections.