유아동 마스크 선호도 및 착용 만족도 분석에 관한 연구

Abstract

The children who are part of this study are compelled to wear masks at educational facilities for an extendedperiod of time as they continue to be exposed to Asian dust, fine dust, and COVID-19. However, use of masks is currentlycausing them a lot of inconvenience. This study aimed to gather basic data for the development of a mask that is suitableand comfortable for children to wear. A total of 331 children aged 1 to 9 were investigated through their parents in termsof their lifestyle, mask wearing and purchasing status, mask preferences, mask inconvenience, and mask improvement. According to the survey on mask use, the proportion of children aged 1–3 years old and wearing ultra-small/XS masks, 4–6 year olds wearing small/S, and 7–9 year olds wearing small/S was the highest. More than 80% of children were wearingmasks with a standard filter of KF80 or higher. The purchase criteria for children's masks were found to be excellent interms of wearing comfort and meeting the filter standards. According to the survey on inconvenience of wearing masks,the majority of those surveyed expressed the need to develop children’s masks of different sizes. Furthermore, they expe-rienced various kinds of inconveniences from adult masks, such as the material quality and length of earring bands; it wasdeduced that these aspects need to be taken care of. The vertical folding type was the most popular in the mask designfor children. Children have to wear masks for a prolonged period of time, but they are experiencing lot of inconvenience,which need to be addressed.