The impact of organisational characteristics of staff and facility on infectious disease outbreaks in care homes: a systematic review

Relation between pre-existing quality management measures and prevention and containment of COVID-19 outbreaks in 159 nursing homes in Tuscany: a mixed methods study

BACKGROUND

Nursing homes were often the focus of COVID-19 outbreaks. Many factors are known to influence the ability of a nursing home to prevent and contain a COVID-19 outbreak. The role of an organisation's quality management prior to the pandemic is not yet clear. In the Italian region of Tuscany nursing home performance indicators have been regularly collected since before the pandemic, providing the opportunity to better understand this relationship.

OBJECTIVES

To test if there is a difference in the results achieved by nursing homes in Tuscany on 13 quality management indicators, when grouped by severity of COVID-19 outbreaks; and to better understand how these indicators may be related to the ability to control COVID-19 outbreaks, from the perspective of nursing homes.

METHODS

We used a mixed methods sequential explanatory design. Based on regional and national databases, 159 nursing homes in Tuscany were divided into four groups by outbreak severity. We tested the significance of the differences between the groups with respect to 13 quality management indicators. The potential relation of these indicators to COVID-19 outbreaks was discussed with 29 managers and other nursing homes' staff through four group interviews.

RESULTS

The quantitative analysis showed significant differences between the groups of nursing homes for 3 of the 13 indicators. From the perspective of nursing homes, the indicators might not be good at capturing important aspects of the ability to control COVID-19 outbreaks. For example, while staffing availability is seen as essential, the staff-to-bed ratio does not capture the turn-over of staff and temporary absences due to positive COVID-19 testing of staff.

CONCLUSIONS

Though currently collected indicators are key for overall performance monitoring and improvement, further refinement of the set of quality management indicators is needed to clarify the relationship with nursing homes' ability to control COVID-19 outbreaks.

Epidemiology of COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities during postvaccine period: a systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

We aimed to define the epidemiology of COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care facilities (ACFs) during the postvaccine period, including vaccine effectiveness (VE) for this high-risk group.

DESIGN

Systematic review and meta-analysis.

DATA SOURCES

Ovid Medline, Ovid Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched through 1 September 2023.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA

Any original observational studies and trials reporting data on COVID-19 outbreaks among the partially/fully vaccinated residents from ACFs during or after the worldwide implementation of vaccine roll-out.

DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS

We estimated the attack rate, case fatality rate, mortality rate and VE during postvaccine period. Random effect model was adopted for meta-analysis. Quality assessment on all included studies was performed using the Meta Quality Appraisal Tool.

RESULTS

38 articles were included from 12 countries reporting 79 outbreaks with 1708 confirmed cases of COVID-19 from 78 ACFs. The pooled attack rate was 28% (95% CI 20% to 37%) among the fully vaccinated residents. Two-thirds (62.5%) of the index cases were unvaccinated healthcare professionals (eg, physicians, nurses) and caregivers. Unvaccinated residents had a significantly higher rates (12%) (95% CI 7% to 19%) of mortality compared with the vaccinated residents (2%) (95% CI% 1 to 4%) and the post-COVID-19 vaccine estimates for case fatality rate (13% vs 23%) and hospitalisation rate (17% vs 37%) were substantially lower. VE in preventing disease among residents in ACFs was 73% (95% CI 49% to 86). Overall, the included studies were heterogeneous in nature, however, the risk of bias was low to moderate.

CONCLUSIONS

Our study reaffirmed the impact of vaccination as a key public health measure to minimise the burden of COVID-19 in ACFs. Facilities with higher crowding indexes should be prioritised for vaccination and should advocate for higher vaccination targets among staff and residents as a critical intervention strategy to minimise disease burden in this vulnerable population.

Differences in Covid-19 mortality among persons 70 years and older in an integrated care setting in region Stockholm: a multi-level analysis between March 2020-February 2021

BACKGROUND

In Norrtälje municipality, within Region Stockholm, there is a joint integrated care organisation providing health and social care, which may have facilitated a more coordinated response to the covid-19 pandemic compared to the otherwise decentralised Swedish system. This study compares the risk of covid-19 mortality among persons 70 years and older, in the municipalities of Stockholm, Södertälje, and Norrtälje, while considering area and individual risk factors.

METHODS

A population-based study using linked register data to examine covid-19 mortality among those 70 + years (N = 127,575) within the municipalities of interest between the periods March-August 2020 and September 2020-February 2021. The effect of individual and area level variables on covid-19 mortality among inhabitants in 68 catchment areas were examined using multi-level logistic models.

RESULTS

Individual factors associated with covid-19 mortality were sex, older age, primary education, country of birth and poorer health as indicated by the Charlson Co-morbidity Index. The area-level variables associated were high deprivation (OR: 1.56, CI: 1.18-2.08), population density (OR: 1.14, CI: 1.08-1.21), and usual care. Together, this explained 85.7% of the variation between catchment areas in period 1 and most variation was due to individual risk factors in period 2. Little of the residual variation was attributed to differences between catchment areas.

CONCLUSION

Integrated care in Norrtälje may have facilitated a more coordinated response during period 1, compared to municipalities with usual care. In the future, integrated care should be considered as an approach to better protect and meet the care needs of older people during emergency situations.

Potential determinants of the quantity and duration of COVID-19 outbreaks in geriatric long-term care facilities

BACKGROUND

We analyzed potential factors for the number and duration of COVID-19 outbreaks in nursing homes based on routine and structural data.

METHODS

All outbreaks during 03/2020-01/2022 in N = 687 of a total of 879 geriatric long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in the Federal State of Hesse, Germany were analyzed using t-tests and logistic regressions in a retrospective cohort study.

RESULTS

Larger LTCFs have more (+ 1.57, p = .009) and longer outbreaks (+ 10.04 days, p > .001). A higher proportion of registered nurses reduces the number (-0.1, p = .036) and duration (-6.02 days, p > .001) of outbreaks. Single-bed rooms provide less duration of outbreaks (-4.5, p = .004). A higher proportion of infected residents (+ 24.26 days, p < .001) and staff (+ 22.98 days, p < .001) prolong outbreaks the most. LTCFs in areas with intermediate population density have an increased risk of prolonged outbreaks (OR: 1.537, p = .036).

CONCLUSIONS

To prevent outbreaks and shorten their duration, LTCFs should increase the proportion of registered nurses and single-bed rooms, and control staff infections.

COVID-19 in German Nursing Homes: The Impact of Facilities' Structures on the Morbidity and Mortality of Residents-An Analysis of Two Cross-Sectional Surveys

The COVID-19 pandemic constitutes an exceptional risk to people living and working in nursing homes (NHs). There were numerous cases and deaths among NH residents, especially at the beginning of the pandemic when no vaccines had yet been developed. Besides regional differences, individual NHs showed vast differences in the number of cases and deaths: while in some, nobody was affected, in others, many people were infected or died. We examine the relationship between facility structures and their effect on infections and deaths of NH residents and infections of staff, while considering the influence of COVID-19 prevalence among the general population on the incidence of infection in NHs. Two nationwide German surveys were conducted during the first and second pandemic waves, comprising responses from n = 1067 NHs. Different hurdle models, with an assumed Bernoulli distribution for zero density and a negative binomial distribution for the count density, were fitted. It can be shown that the probability of an outbreak, and the number of cases/deaths among residents and staff, increased with an increasing number of staff and the general spread of the virus. Therefore, reverse isolation of NH residents was an inadequate form of protection, especially at the beginning of the pandemic.

Reimagining Infection Control in U.S. Nursing Homes in the Era of COVID-19

Residents of nursing homes (NHs) are susceptible to infection, and these facilities, particularly those that provide post-acute care services, are high-risk settings for the rapid spread of communicable respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses, as well as antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The complexity of medical care delivered in most NHs has increased dramatically over the past 2 decades; however, the structure and resources supporting the practice of infection prevention and control in these facilities has failed to keep pace. Rising numbers of infections caused by Clostridioides difficile and multidrug-resistant organisms, as well as the catastrophic effects of COVID-19 have pushed NH infection control resources to a breaking point. Recent changes to federal regulations require NHs to devote greater resources to the facility infection control program. However, additional changes are needed if sustained improvements in the prevention and control of infections and antibiotic resistance in NHs are to be achieved.