Infection prevention and control in nursing homes in the COVID era: research, stakeholder perspectives and best practices
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Author(s):
- Rubano, Mario, author Keiffer, Elana, author Larson, Elaine, author
- Contributor(s):
- New York Academy of Medicine, issuing body.
- Publication:
- New York, NY : New York Academy of Medicine, 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- COVID-19 -- prevention & control Infection Control Nursing Homes Government Regulation Health Workforce Organizational Culture Quality of Life New York City United States
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted those within the aging services network, and those outside of it, to deeply consider the safety and well-being of those who reside and work in nursing homes (NH). The outsized impact of the pandemic on one of society's most vulnerable populations has brought to the fore the range of challenges facing NH systems and the inequities that exist in long-term care services. After the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was reported in the United States on January 21, 2020, challenges in obtaining sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE) for hospitals and NHs were already emerging by mid-February. Then, on February 28, came the first U.S. report of a NH resident who had contracted COVID-19. From that point, SARS-CoV-2 swept through NHs because of the many vulnerabilities in the long-term care setting, including residents requiring complex medical care, shared and congregate spaces, and the infrastructure and supply challenges facing staff and facilities trying to respond to the rapidly spreading pandemic. With an estimated 1.2 million people living in NHs in the United States, a well-rounded understanding of the multiple factors that led to the unparalleled infection and mortality rates in NHs is critical to preparing for future outbreaks. Residents of NHs typically have physical characteristics and diagnoses that put them at an elevated risk for infection including fragile skin, depressed immune systems, malnutrition, dehydration, incontinence and reliance on catheters. These patient traits, along with other structural characteristics common in long-term care settings, accelerate the spread of infection in NHs across the globe. Estimates of total infections in this setting run as high as 2 million per year. Decades of disinvestment and disinterest in these care communities left them wholly unprepared for the devastating realities of a highly contagious respiratory disease. A keen understanding of how and why NHs were so disproportionately affected is critical to seeing NHs through the remainder of the pandemic and to building equitable solutions that prevent future pandemics from having a similarly devastating impact.
- Copyright:
- Reproduced with permission of the copyright holder. Further use of the material is subject to CC BY-NC-ND license. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (57 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918351188806676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918351188806676