Objective: To report the details of provision of personal protective equipment to midwives during the
COVID-19 pandemic in Peru
Methods: This is a non-experimental, descriptive, cross-sectional study. An online survey of 679 midwives working at public healthcare centres was conducted via questionnaires. The following aspects were
outlined: method of supply and frequency of delivery of personal protective equipment, type of personal
protective equipment provided by the institution, and self-purchase. Furthermore, features of the midwives’ workplace were described. For statistical analysis, absolute frequencies and relative proportions
were used for categorical variables, and mean and standard deviation were used for numerical variables.
Measurements and findings: The most important finding of this study is that a large proportion of midwives (66.6%) did not receive new personal protective equipment for each shift; 41.9% of midwives who
received personal protective equipment during each shift exclusively provided services in the COVID-19
ward, whereas 27.6% did not. The least received supplies were of N95 respirator masks (41.7%) and disposable isolation suit gown (50.5%). Only a certain proportion of midwives (38.6%) were trained by their
own institutions on the use of personal protective equipment.
Key conclusions: The provision of personal protective equipment to midwives and training on personal
protective equipment were insufficient at all workplaces. Therefore, measures must be taken to increase
the supply of this material to midwives who are essential workers in reproductive health