The Last Mile: PPE as a Critical Barrier to Healthcare Employment Pipeline for Persons with Disabilities.
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| Title: | The Last Mile: PPE as a Critical Barrier to Healthcare Employment Pipeline for Persons with Disabilities. |
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| Authors: | Schneider, Jennifer1 jlwcem@rit.edu, Pendelberry, Kristina1, Atcherson, Samuel R.2 |
| Source: | Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research. Apr-Jun2026, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p34-44. 11p. |
| Subject Terms: | *Employment of people with disabilities, *Legal compliance, *Affirmative action programs, *STEM occupations, Personal protective equipment, Accessible design, Medical personnel |
| Abstract: | The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical gaps in personal protective equipment (PPE) accessibility, particularly for workers with disabilities in healthcare and STEM fields. While PPE is an essential component of workplace safety, its design and regulatory frameworks often fail to accommodate broad groups of workers, including workers with disabilities, thereby limiting their inclusion in these high-growth sectors. This paper examines PPE as the "last mile" of the employment pipeline for disabled workers, and analyzes barriers created by ill-fitting, non-inclusive PPE. This research explores the implications of existing barriers across the PPE ecosystem, highlights the need to expand accessibility, and proposes a framework for inclusive PPE design which maximizes safety, comfort, and usability for all workers. Through a review of regulatory policies, employment statistics, and PPE standards, this paper shows how improving PPE inclusivity can enhance employment outcomes for society (including disabled individuals), promote workplace equity, and strengthen workforce resilience in healthcare and STEM industries in the U.S. This paper is a health policy review at the conceptual level and therefore no human or animal subjects were involved and all data discussed are publicly available in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research is the property of Institute for STEM Education & Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Education Research Complete |
| FullText | Links: – Type: pdflink Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: ehh DbLabel: Education Research Complete An: 195607208 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: The Last Mile: PPE as a Critical Barrier to Healthcare Employment Pipeline for Persons with Disabilities. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Schneider%2C+Jennifer%22">Schneider, Jennifer</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jlwcem@rit.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Pendelberry%2C+Kristina%22">Pendelberry, Kristina</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Atcherson%2C+Samuel+R%2E%22">Atcherson, Samuel R.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+STEM+Education%3A+Innovations+%26+Research%22">Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research</searchLink>. Apr-Jun2026, Vol. 27 Issue 2, p34-44. 11p. – Name: Subject Label: Subject Terms Group: Su Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Employment+of+people+with+disabilities%22">Employment of people with disabilities</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Legal+compliance%22">Legal compliance</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Affirmative+action+programs%22">Affirmative action programs</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22STEM+occupations%22">STEM occupations</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Personal+protective+equipment%22">Personal protective equipment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Accessible+design%22">Accessible design</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+personnel%22">Medical personnel</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical gaps in personal protective equipment (PPE) accessibility, particularly for workers with disabilities in healthcare and STEM fields. While PPE is an essential component of workplace safety, its design and regulatory frameworks often fail to accommodate broad groups of workers, including workers with disabilities, thereby limiting their inclusion in these high-growth sectors. This paper examines PPE as the "last mile" of the employment pipeline for disabled workers, and analyzes barriers created by ill-fitting, non-inclusive PPE. This research explores the implications of existing barriers across the PPE ecosystem, highlights the need to expand accessibility, and proposes a framework for inclusive PPE design which maximizes safety, comfort, and usability for all workers. Through a review of regulatory policies, employment statistics, and PPE standards, this paper shows how improving PPE inclusivity can enhance employment outcomes for society (including disabled individuals), promote workplace equity, and strengthen workforce resilience in healthcare and STEM industries in the U.S. This paper is a health policy review at the conceptual level and therefore no human or animal subjects were involved and all data discussed are publicly available in the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research is the property of Institute for STEM Education & Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
| PLink | https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&site=eds-live&db=ehh&AN=195607208 |
| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 11 StartPage: 34 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Employment of people with disabilities Type: general – SubjectFull: Legal compliance Type: general – SubjectFull: Affirmative action programs Type: general – SubjectFull: STEM occupations Type: general – SubjectFull: Personal protective equipment Type: general – SubjectFull: Accessible design Type: general – SubjectFull: Medical personnel Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: The Last Mile: PPE as a Critical Barrier to Healthcare Employment Pipeline for Persons with Disabilities. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Schneider, Jennifer – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Pendelberry, Kristina – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Atcherson, Samuel R. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 04 Text: Apr-Jun2026 Type: published Y: 2026 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 15575276 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 27 – Type: issue Value: 2 Titles: – TitleFull: Journal of STEM Education: Innovations & Research Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
