A new study has pinpointed key factors that made an impact on nursing home residents’ quality of life during the pandemic, and that can serve as targets for improvement, researchers say.
Investigators recruited nine nursing facilities, examining data for 689 residents representing 18 care units in Alberta, Canada. Participating facilities were chosen for having experienced either no or minor COVID-19 outbreaks, or repeated or extensive outbreaks.
Video-based care aide interviews, analyzed using a patient-reported outcome measure, helped to gauge resident quality of life. When analyzing the resulting data, researchers factored in whether a COVID-19 outbreak had occurred in the last two weeks, the level of care aide burnout as determined by a standardized measure, and residents’ access to healthcare providers who specialize in geriatrics.
The data showed that recent COVID-19 outbreaks, a greater proportion of emotionally exhausted care aides in individual care units and lack of access to geriatric professionals were all significantly linked with poorer resident quality of life.
Instituting policies that address these factors such as boosting facility infection prevention and control, better supporting staff and increasing resident access to specialists may help mitigate negative pandemic effects on residents’ well-being, the investigators concluded.
Full findings were published in JAMDA.
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