Since the spring of 2020, nursing homes have been hit hard by Covid-19 in several areas. Preventive measures have been deployed to prevent infection and spread of Covid-19.
In addition to benefits in terms of infection prevention, these measures also have disadvantages for perceived quality of life for residents and loved ones, and perceived quality of work for healthcare professionals.
The project aims to provide insight into an appropriate palette of measures to prevent and control outbreaks of Covid-19 and Influenza in nursing homes. By 'appropriate' is meant: both meaningful to prevent or control an outbreak, and proportionate with respect to quality of life and work.
Three pillars
The project consists of three pillars. In the first pillar, a survey of at least 30 nursing home organizations will identify how they have prepared for Covid-19 and Influenza outbreaks in the fall and winter of 2022/2023.
The second pillar will track nursing home organizations where an outbreak of Covid-19 or Influenza has occurred. This will examine the extent to which they succeed in successfully implementing the infection prevention and control strategy developed in advance, and what factors promote and hinder this.
For the last pillar, focus groups will be held with residents, relatives and care professionals to gain insight into the support for the various infection prevention and control measures in different outbreak scenarios. The outcomes of the three pillars will be combined and incorporated into a recommendation for appropriate measures to prevent and control outbreaks of Covid-19 and Influenza in nursing homes.
The project is conducted in collaboration with several (Academic) Workplaces for Elderly Care in the Netherlands.